What are you Hiding?
by Winged Angel Girl
Summary: Max is just a normal teenager.. until beautiful but frightening men start following her. Why do they want her and what do they have to do with the new boy Fang, who she feels oddly attracted to? FAX!
1. Another Boring Day

Great another boring day…It is so wonderful how every day you do the same stupid routine. Wake up, go to school, head back home, do stuff and go to sleep. That's me Max, basically my whole boring life.

Yeah, I'm late, like I really care. I'm always late and I don't give shit about it. First of all school sucks and in my case I wish it never even existed.

Some people love school, others don't. I include myself in that majority of people who don't like school. I don't really care about school. I don't have friends, I don't want friends. So that's maybe a big reason why I didn't like it.

I was so lost in thought I didn't notice where I was going, so it pissed me off when I bumped into a guy.

"Watch where you're going you ass," I screamed, watching the guy drop his things all over my feet. _Ughh _give me a break, this guy just happened to be in my way. I hated when people got in my way when I was in a hurry!

When the guy picked up his things and finally looked at me, I had the sudden urge to look away. It wasn't the fact that he was good looking, it was his eyes. He had piercing black eyes that made him unreadable, sending shivers down my spine. It wasn't that he was scary; it's just that he looked like someone nobody messed with.

That didn't stop me from glaring back though. He looked surprised I didn't cringe and shook his head a little, his dark hair falling a little in his face. His expression seemed to darken as he pulled back a little and studied me.

"I didn't see you", he finally said, giving me a cold look, which I mirrored. His voice would have scared most people but since I'm not most people I looked him in the eyes and held his gaze without cringing.

"Well next time you better keep your eyes open", I told him coldly and walked around him to the school. I could tell he was glaring at me too but to my surprise he followed me.

"Look I'm new here and even though I would love to ditch, I need to get to class, so can you just show me how to get to English." I could tell he was annoyed and uncomfortable, which surprised me.

"Fine" I replied, nodding stiffly. We walked in silence through the empty hallway. He was taller than me but not too tall, dressed in his black shirt with some dark jeans with black converse, I had no doubt he'd be taken in a week, if he didn't already have a girlfriend.

"I'm Max", I offered but he just stared at me and looked away. Huh, now he pissed me off.

"Dude, I don't know what's your problem but when I offer my name you're supposed to say yours".

His eyes flared, but he shook himself and just said, "I'm Fang".

Someone had a temper. He was not the chattiest person, I can tell you that and for some reason I wondered if he was always like that, but I ignored my inside babbling and when we reached the classroom the room fell quiet.

"So nice of you to join us Maximum Ride, you're late, again." Our teacher, Miss Parks, is not the friendliest teacher out there, and I'm definitely not an easy student to deal with, but I just smiled and said, "I overslept, can you believe it?" She was getting ready to bite my head off when at that moment Fang walked in.

All eyes fell on him. I heard a few sighs from the girls and some guys threw him murderous looks. Fang looked uncomfortable, like he wished he was someplace else and not here. Poor sap!

Ms. Parks introduced him to the whole class and she motioned for him to take an empty seat. He sat at the farthest side of the room next to the window, and looked away for the entire class. I just couldn't help but wonder, what was up with him. He was different from the people I knew. Something about him was way off, like he was hiding a something, but I couldn't tell because at that moment Fang looked my way and my breath caught looking at his dark, penetrating eyes.

* * *

After school, I took an easy short cut home; I live close to school so I don't take the bus. I walked through the forest and since I'm always alone I didn't mind the quietness of the place. But I couldn't tell why I felt so edgy today, maybe it was because of Fang and his mysterious presence or maybe it was because I'm always paranoid.

I heard leaves cracking and I tensed, everything was too quiet and the only sound heard were the birds chirping. I kept walking but I became aware of the cracking of leaves and the sound of bushes rustling. I hid behind a tree, my heart pounding in my chest. Out of some bushes a guy came out, I strained my neck to see past the tree and I noticed the guy was no one other than Fang.

What could he be doing here? Why was he out here in the forest? As if sensing me, Fang looked my way and I tensed. He saw me and his eyes looked alarmed, even surprised. I sighed and faced him. I hadn't seen him since English class, but the gossip in school revolved around this strange, new kid who was now staring at me with his obsidian dark eyes.

"What are you doing here?" I wanted some answers to my internal babbling and he was going to answer my questions even if he didn't like it.

"I was about to ask you the same thing actually," His voice was controlled, emotionless, but his eyes were wondering.

"Well I was on my way home if you most know, until you scared the crap out of me," this guy was irritating me! "You still didn't answer my question, Fang".

"It's not a very good thing to be walking in this forest alone." He didn't look at me when he said this and something told me there was more to this.

"For you information, I've been walking home alone since I came here, and nothing's happened…"He cut me off and his next words surprised me.

"Look it's getting late, even though you don't need help, I'll walk you home". I was so shocked I didn't answer right away. Did I hear right?

He raised one of his perfect black eyebrows and challenged me to say something. I opened my mouth to argue, but I knew it was pointless, he was really unpredictable and I didn't like that, it was frustrating. Instead I angrily turned and kept walking through the forest, with him following closely behind. We walked in silence for what seemed liked ages, until we reached my house.

He stopped and looked at me, "Do you live alone or does someone live with you?" I could sense his curiosity behind the simple question.

"Basically, my mom works a lot and I don't see her often, my dad left when I was little and my sister is never home, she practically lives with her boyfriend." It surprised me how much I said, because usually I was more reserved especially around strangers. I guess I babble a lot when I'm nervous.

He didn't say anything as he studied my expression, so I surprised myself by saying, "Wanna come in?" The boy walked me home; the least I could do was offer him to come in.

He cocked his head to the side as he thought about it and he looked as surprised by my offer as I was. After a few moments he nodded and followed me inside. The house was messy but I didn't care, I sat on the living room's sofa and he sat next to me, he studied everything, but he never said anything. He sighed and turned, facing me.

"You can't walk home alone; the forest is not the safest place out there anymore, even if you have been walking home by yourself. You don't know me but you gotta trust me on that." There was something kind of urgent in his tome, and his eyes were darker than usual. I couldn't do anything but nod.

He visibly relaxed and he looked at me with his beautiful eyes and said, "I gotta get going, Max. Thanks, for letting me in, see you tomorrow." He stood up and before I could say another word, was out the door.

Just like that I was oddly missing his dark presence and his beautiful black eyes.


	2. Safe and Comfortable

**Hey guys!! so many thanks to those who reviewed, you guys are awesome and you motivated me into writing this chapter. I will like to thank Natalia and Mariela for helping me in this chapter. Oh and just a reminder that Max is a regular girl without wings okay, so on with the story**...

God, I was so not ready for school today. After what happened yesterday, I was anxious to see, Fang. I mean call me crazy, but the guy draws me in, and I was not happy about it. After Fang left yesterday, I told myself over and over that the fact that I missed him was because I felt lonely, yeah that was it.

I guess living alone makes you feel that way sometimes, and even though I have no complains about it, I'd like to see my mom more often. As for my dad, he was always an asshole, so I don't miss him at all. Living alone all these years made me strong, that's why I'm always paranoid and ever since I was a little girl I was always two steps ahead of everyone and I was always the independent one.

Today was just like yesterday, the girls talking about the hottest new boy, who they would totally go for. The guys talking about getting close to the new guy, so they could get into girl's pants. Was everything about Fang? And where was he anyway, not that I was waiting for him or anything like that but, isn't he supposed to be here by now?

As if on cue, Fang walked in and just like yesterday he took his seat, ignored the stares and the people ogling him and sat down in the farthest seat, next to the window. He was wearing a black jacket but the same jeans as yesterday and his black converse. He was silently staring at the blue sky outside and he sighed, lost in deep thought. For a moment, I wondered what he was thinking, before I realized I probably sounded like a stalker, and mentally scolded myself.

He found me staring at him and his eyes locked with mine. I shyly smiled at him and his lips gave me the hint of a smile. I felt my cheeks get warm and I quickly looked away, if I blushed without him fully smiling then I couldn't imagine myself blushing, if he did smile. Oh, God!

I sounded so stupid and I was angry at Fang for making me feel like that. Sometimes I just wanted to whack myself in the head.

Before I could do something stupid, I stared straight ahead, not turning to look at Fang. I zoned out through class and I paid no attention whatsoever to the teacher. I mean who cares about some old dead guys, who apparently "contributed" to the world of literature. Boring, as hell. I basically did the same thing in the rest of my classes; I paid no attention to any of them.

* * *

When the bell rang, signaling lunch, I picked up my things and before I could go, I ran into Fang, again, on my way out. I looked up to see a startled Fang, and I said "You know it's getting annoying for you to always bump into me like that".

Amusement flashed in his eyes and he said, "Well, that makes two of us then."

We walked side by side and then he surprised me by saying, "How 'bout you sit with me at lunch, Max?" He said it so quietly, I wasn't even sure I heard him right. This kid was more puzzling than solving a rubix cube and I can tell you, it is not as easy to solve as it looks.

Before I could respond, he looked me in the eyes and I couldn't say no to him then, so I just nodded, not saying anything. He looked at me a little longer but then he shook his head and said, "See ya, in a few."

He left me standing there like an air head looking in his direction. What the hell is wrong with me! Why couldn't I just say no? Maybe it was because of his puzzling presence or maybe his eyes, either way he frustrated me! Just lunch, Max, relax. It was just lunch, nothing else.

I found him in a table away from everybody else; he studied everything and everyone just like he did at home. I sat in front of him and I noticed all the food he had, the guy could eat. I ate a lot too, so it was refreshing to see someone else eating as much as me.

"Why did you ask me to sit with you, Fang?" My question made him look up from his food, he could sense my curiosity and for the first time he smiled a full smile, I almost choked on my pizza; he had the most beautiful smile I've seen.

"'Cause maybe, I wanted to," his tone was cocky and irritating; who did he think he was?

"You know Fang, you really irritate me, "my voice was sharp and I threw him my famous glare, but he didn't even cringe. Instead he looked rather amused, and all he said was, "I know."

That did it; you know I don't really have a good temper so I snapped. "Will it kill you to talk in full sentences, Fang? I don't know what's your problem but right know you're pissing me off and you won't like it when I get mad, and guess what I'm one step away from hurting you!"

He stood up, his eyes flashing as he answered me in a quiet, deadly tone, "You are so full of yourself, Max, if you think I have a problem then you should take a look at yourself."

We stood like that glaring at each other and not saying anything. At least nobody noticed our little scene because we were far away.

Suddenly Fang grabbed my backpack and said, "Let's go."I was still mad at him, so I didn't move from where I was standing. He then grabbed my hand and pulled me forward, leaving our lunch trays and everything.

"Where are we going?" I snarled.

"Away from here," Fang said, still holding my hand and my back pack. I tried to ignore that as we headed outside school, and to our school parking.

"Are we ditching our afternoon classes?"

He raised one black eyebrow and said, "Is that a problem, are you scared you might get caught?"

He was mocking me! The asshole thought he could actually mess with me. I met his eyes evenly and answered him in a confident tone, "As if, I hate school."

He shook his head and we headed in the direction of the forest, he looked like he knew where he was going so I just followed him and glared at his back the whole time. He kept walking and as we headed deeper inside the forest, his hands didn't let go of mine.

"Where are you going, Fang?"

He let out a frustrated sigh, "Do you always ask so many questions?"

I pursed my lips and bit my tongue so as to not scream profanities at him.

We were very deep in the forest by now, I could hear the birds chirping and the sound of our feet, walking to God knows where! Did I already say I just met the guy yesterday and now I was walking with him, alone to who knows where?

I don't know why but for a minute there, those things didn't matter. He didn't look like a bad guy, even if he was hard to figure out. He was still holding my hand and his hand felt warm and comforting. I sighed and decided that I was going to figure Fang out, because he was not the typical boy next door guy, he was the misunderstood quiet one.

We reached a mountain wall that was not too high but not too small either. It had small rocks that I guess people used to hold onto, while climbing. Which is exactly what Fang was doing, climbing the dang wall. Fang looked at me; he saw me, still on the ground.

"Max, you gotta climb up, I want to show you something up there."

"Why should I?" I raised my eyebrow and challenged him to answer my question.

"Are you scared, Max or do you not know how to do something as simple as climbing?"There he goes again, daring me. His arrogant tone made me want to strangle him.

I quickly put my feet on the rock closest to the ground and started to climb up, determined to beat him to the top, but to my surprise he swiftly, without even breathing hard, climbed up. I followed closely after, but unlike him I was actually a little breathless, 'cause even though I'm fit and strong, climbing was a little exhausting.

From here you could see the rest of the forest, its view was breath taking and beautiful. I've always seen the forest, but never from here. You could see the trees and you could feel the wind colder from here. Fang came and laid down on the ground, closing his eyes. He looked relaxed and a slight smile graced his lips. I could tell he enjoyed being here and I didn't blame him because up here, it was very peaceful. So as usual, I was the one who broke the silence.

"Fang, this place is amazing, but I don't get why you brought me here, with you in the first place?"

He looked at me then and he slowly sat up, I sat down next to him and faced him. He studied my face carefully before answering me.

"Yesterday when I left your house I stumbled upon this place, I know you were alone and since you have nothing to do today, I thought maybe we could chill here for awhile."

I blinked in shock at what he said, once again he surprised me. I started to say something but he cut me off.

"I don't know you but I can tell that despite what you want people to think, you're hiding what you really feel."He didn't look at me when he said that and he looked lost in thought. "You're brave, Max."

I didn't like talking about me; it made me uncomfortable because right now what he was saying was true and it scared me.

"I like it up here; it makes me feel closer to the sky."While he said this he looked so peaceful and stress free that I forgot about everything and focused only on him.

We laid down side by side and his faced turned to look at me and this time he truly smiled, a full smile. It was as breath taking as the scenery .It was then that I realized that by his side I felt safe and even happy which in my case is almost impossible but at that moment I didn't care that I didn't know Fang. All I saw was his gorgeous full smile and that by his side I was comfortable and at peace for the first time ever.

**Luv it?? Hate it?? any comments on it?? pease review!! =)**


	3. Don't Go

**Hey guys!! Thanks for all your reviews they make me want to cry, so thanks. This chapter was not easy to write but I had fun writing it =P Special thanks to sugar-coated fangs for giving me an idea about this chapter's complication XD..so guys keep reviewing and tell me what you think of the chapter.**

**P.S. I forgot to write the disclaimer in the last chapters so here: I do not own Maximum Ride, James Patterson does.  
**

I sighed tapping my pencil against my desk, replaying the events that happened yesterday. I smiled and immediately cursed myself. It's not that I'm always this girly and stupid, it's just that Fang was probably the only person who made me feel happy and irritated at the same time. Huh, isn't that something?

We stayed on the mountain until we could see the sun go down. After that Fang followed me home and we stayed talking about, well anything really. I mostly did all the talking though, which is not very surprising.

He was actually interested in my childhood and even though I never did actually have many friends, I was always doing something naughty, which eventually got me grounded. Then I'd ask him about his childhood and his smile turned into a grimace.

"I never really got one," was all he'd said. I'd waited for him to elaborate but he didn't. We had been sitting on the porch and then I'd realized nobody knew where he lived or with who. I didn't even know his mom or dad or if he had siblings.

Just as I was going to voice my thoughts, he'd stood up and said, "I should probably head home Max, glad you came with me today."He'd sounded sincere and when he'd turned to leave I stopped him.

"But wait Fang; don't go through the forest, its dark out there you'd get lost."

I had stood up and I grabbed his arm. He was surprised at that but his eyes softened and all he'd said was, "I'll be fine, Max."Then he was gone and just like yesterday I'd stayed there looking at him.

So today, as I was sitting here, chewing on my pencil; Fang walked in. Speak of the damn devil. He quickly studied everything and then his eyes found mine. Almost involuntarily, my lips turned into a slight smile and to my surprise, his lips gave me the hint of a smile too. Then he shocked everyone and me by sitting next to me, instead of his usual place next to the window.

Suddenly the room broke out into whispers and I could see girls giving me evil glares. Fang looked oblivious to it all and then he turned to look at me.

"Why aren't you sitting by the window?" I raised my eyebrow and questioned him with me eyes.

"Thought I could sit next to you today. "His voice was quiet and out of the corner of my eyes I could see some girls gasping at hearing him speak for the first time.

"Oh," that was my intelligible answer. I guy tells you he wants to sit with you and you say oh. God, I suck! I was acting as dumb as a school girl being asked on her first date. Talk about pathetic!

The rest of the day went by in a blur; it was basically boring lectures, essays and homework. During lunch Fang sat with me, but unlike yesterday we didn't fight, instead for once he did talk. He told me he lived with his dad and that he had siblings but they weren't here with him or his dad.

"So you're basically alone too," my voice sounded nonchalant, as I ate my mashed potatoes.

"Yup, basically, but I don't mind though, I like being alone..."His tone was indifferent but I could tell there was more to it than what he was saying.

"I guess, but sometimes it makes me wonder what's it like to have someone real close to you, who you can talk to, who you can be with."

Fang looked at me but didn't say anything; we continued eating in silence like that, none of us saying anything. It was he, who finally broke the silence.

"Does not having someone around make you feel alone?" His voice was soft and quiet; I could tell he honestly wanted to know.

"It used to bother me a lot but, not right now," I answered him 'cause the truth was as clear as day, with him being here I didn't feel alone. And that's saying a lot about someone I barely knew.

* * *

After school Fang walked me home, as usual the forest was peaceful and quiet. I could hear the sound of the trees being blown by the breeze, the sound made me relax and sigh. I still couldn't get why Fang insisted on walking me home, sure I didn't mind, but I still couldn't put the puzzle pieces together. It was like something was missing, but I couldn't figure out what.

He never answered a direct question. He was always wary of everything and everyone, not that I blame him; I mean I am like that but still, I am not what you call "normal".

It was while I was daydreaming like this that I became aware of two things. Fang was very edgy and his pace quickened. The hairs on my neck prickled and I knew something was wrong. Fang was looking everywhere and he stepped closer to me and clutched my hand. Instead of it feeling warm and comfortable like yesterday, it felt cold and hard, which told me something was very wrong.

"Fang what's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said, but his voice was troubled and alarmed. "Just keep moving, Max, quickly."

Instead of doing what he told me, I yanked my hand away from his and I stubbornly replied, "No, tell me what's wrong or so help me I will not move from here." I was nothing but stubborn. I was tired of his riddles and his games. I wanted straight forward answers and he was going to give me some, whether he liked it or not.

"Max please…"

He couldn't get past that because at that moment I heard the indescribable sound of a growl. The sound was deep and it made my skin crawl. The sound of it was so terrifying that I gripped Fang's hand and started running as fast as I could. The trees blurred as we went through the bushes together. I got scraped by tree branches, but I didn't care 'cause my mind was screaming "_ run, Max, run!!!!" _

I heard a few more growls; growing closer, coming from our sides. My grip on Fang's hand tightened and adrenaline made me run even faster. I was panting and I needed to catch my breath, but I knew better than to stop.

We finally reached my house and we ran through the porch and into the house in about 3 seconds. I was gasping for air and I struggled to control myself. I was a little shaky and my heart was pounding loudly against my chest. I wobbled slightly but Fang steadied me.

He was breathing a little hard but not nearly as badly as me. He was composed, but his face was set as stone and his eyes were emotionless. He sat me down on the kitchen's chair and got me a glass of water.

"Are you okay?" He asked me in a strained voice, his posture was rigid and stiff. He sat down on the floor next to me and he was watching me carefully.

"Yeah, I am. I've never heard those growls before, Fang. What were they?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to go check it out now." There was something about the way he said it that wasn't very convincing but before I could say anything, he stood up. I snatched his hand and gripped his arm in a tight hold.

"No, you are not going to face, God knows what, out there by yourself," I glared at him and didn't take my hand from his. In a way it was because I didn't want him to go off running and also just because I wanted to take his hand.

"Max, I'll be fine," he said, slowly removing his hand from mine. I didn't let go, instead I clutched to it tighter.

"Don't be stupid, Fang." Did he have any brains? How in the world was he going out there?

He ignored my statement and said, "Look do me a favor and stay here, don't go to the forest," this time he did pull his hand out of my firm grasp.

I stood up and blocked his way out by putting myself in front of the door. I was nothing but stubborn, and being told what to do made me annoyed and angry. He let out a frustrated sigh and shook his head, heading for the window.

"Look Fang, if you want to leave, go ahead but that won't make me stay here."

He stopped in front of the window and glared at me. He didn't look too happy about what I'd said. But I could care less of what he thought. I was not going to play the role of a damsel in distress, if he was going out there so was I. He walked up to me and looked at me in the eyes, for the first time I saw he was angry, really angry, at me.

"_Max__.._" He said each word distinctively. He looked dangerous and mad; his voice had an edge to it. He was very close to me, the closest he has ever been. I looked up to his flashing eyes burning into mine.

"No," my voice didn't shake or quiver. I was determined not to let him leave. He was staying here whether he wanted to or not.

His closed his eyes and his hands clenched and unclenched. I didn't know what the big deal was. I mean why did he have to go, like right now?

"You can't make me stay, Fang."

He looked at me then, suddenly he took my face in his hands and tilted my chin, willing me to stare at his smoldering eyes. I was so surprised I couldn't even breathe for a moment.

"Promise me, you won't follow me, Max."All traces of anger were gone from his face. His voice was gentle and persuasive and his eyes pleaded mine to understand.

I stood there mesmerized by his eyes, by him in general. I couldn't speak because I was afraid my voice would betray me.

"Nothing will happen, I promise."

I wanted so hard to believe that but I knew better. You can't say "everything will be alright" when you know nothing is right. You can't lie, you have to be realistic, keep your eyes open. If you blink or miss anything, you're dead, just like that. The fact is I face things the way they are, I'm no hypocrite.

Yet here I was, nodding reluctantly, transfixed by his alluring gaze. Slowly his hands traveled down my arm and took hold of my hands.

"Do you promise to stay here?"

I nodded not saying anything, looking at out entwined hands, and avoiding his eyes. He didn't say anything, but he stepped away from me and was soon out the door, disappearing from my view. For the first time in my life I felt truly alone.

**Luv it? Hate it?...please tell me what you think, review, Review,REVIEW!!!**


	4. Never Alone

**For those of you who are reading this, thank you for reviewing and for continuing to read my story, you guys are awesome!!! There is a lot of foreshadowing to Fang's secret in the last chapter, and in the upcoming chapter too. So we will soon know what Fang's secret is don't worry!!!**

**Disclaimer : I do not own Maximum Ride JP does.**

You know when you feel you're mad at someone; all you want to do is punch something until it hurts. Well I was feeling completely pissed and the someone I was mad at, was me. Fang missed the rest of the school week and I couldn't help but feel anxious that something had happened to him.

I told the fucking asshole to stay home and he just left anyway. It was all his damn fault; I didn't have to blame myself. I hadn't seen Fang since he left home.

Today was just as disappointing as yesterday. I had waited, hoping Fang would come through the door all irritating and quiet but just as yesterday, he didn't show.

Everyday I'd wait for him to walk me home after school. I didn't want to go through the forest alone, and even though I wasn't afraid of it, I had become used to Fang walking me home. I took the long way home and avoided the path through the forest each and every day.

During the little time I knew Fang he had become close to me. I had never met someone so similar to me and yet so different from me too. I felt stupid and even madder at myself for feeling like this. I have also never met someone so cocky and arrogant in all my life. To sum it all up, Fang was just frustrating and puzzling.

I sighed as I went to my room. I sat down on my bed and looked out the window. I saw the beautiful scenery of the forest and I groaned. I turned my head and noticed the date in the calendar next to my bed and my eyes went wide. Shit! I forgot mom was coming home today. I scrambled up and went to check my voice mail and indeed I had two messages; both of them from mom.

Apparently something happened at work and they had to send her home. She was staying the weekend here with me. I groaned, don't get me wrong, I loved my mom and everything but she was always different and every time I saw her, something about her changed and not in a good way.

I sighed and got up from my bed to face mom when she got here. I didn't bother cleaning up. I just didn't care enough to do it.

* * *

"Max, how are you?"

My mom was very different from me, she loved talking, she was always good with the emotional shit, and she had many friends, pretty much the whole opposite of me.

Mom came up to me and hugged me. I awkwardly hugged her back, since I didn't like hugging people. The truth was that as much as I liked mom, she felt like a complete stranger to me, maybe because she was.

"Fine," I answered her simply. She looked at me and sighed, she never did get me.

"I called your sister, she said she was coming home too, her boyfriend is driving her here."

Mom always liked my sister better, maybe because Lisa was more like her or maybe it was because Lisa was very girly and stupid, either way I didn't care.

"Max, be a dear and carry my stuff inside," she pinched my cheek as she went inside and I could hear her scream at the mess in the house. I laughed and left her suitcases where they were. I didn't take orders from any one, not even my mom.

Right then a black, shiny car parked in our driveway. I could see my sister glued to her boyfriend from where I was standing. They were practically sucking each other's faces off and he had his hand up her shirt. Talk about too much PDA. I was sure that at any moment someone was going to take their clothes off, but before it could get too graphic, Lisa opened her door and stepped out.

Her make up was smudged all over her face, her hair was a mess; I guess from her make out session. Her blouse had a few buttons opened, exposing her cleavage. I'm sure that if you looked for the word slut in the dictionary, you'd find Lisa's picture right next to it.

"What are you staring at?" She sneered, looking all superior, like she owned the damn place. She looked me up and down; apparently I wasn't worth her time or something because she tossed her hair and turned. Now, I wasn't going to let this bitch win so I said, "Actually I was staring at you and all I see is a nasty bitch, who thinks she's all that, but really Lisa you're nothing but a whore, I mean look at you."

I signaled her opened blouse to her way too short denim skirt. I shook my head in disgust and left her there, staring at me with her mouth wide open and gaping at me like if someone had bitch-slapped her.

As it turned out, in the end I was the one who got the short end of the stick. Apparently Lisa didn't want to share a room with me, so mom ended up giving her my room, forcing me to sleep on the couch. When I was little, Lisa and I shared a bed but now that we were older and she was living with her boyfriend, I had the room to myself.

It's amazing how I ended up in the living room couch. I punched the pillow in agitation and glared at the ceiling. To top it all off, I was still thinking about Fang and the weird growling I heard the other day. I tossed and turned in the uncomfortable couch. The thing is that I missed Fang and as much as I wanted to deny it and aside from the fact that missing him was completely stupid, I still did miss him.

Since I couldn't sleep, I decided to go for a night stroll outside and me being, well me, went for a walk through the forest. Yes, it wasn't very smart due to the fact that there might be someone out there waiting to rape me or maybe even kill me, but I could care less right now.

The forest was dark and it was windy outside. I tucked my blanket more closely around me, and looked at the trees that were creepier at night than during the day. The sky had a full moon, so it wasn't completely dark. The shadows of the trees made the forest look gloomy and murky. I was heading deeper into the forest and before I realized it, I was completely lost.

I was feeling edgy and every sound made me paranoid and I started cursing myself for my brilliant idea of taking a midnight stroll through the forest. My heart was pounding against my chest and I took deep calming breaths.

I knew that the real reason I took this stroll was to look for Fang. I don't know, maybe I would find his dead body or stumble upon his rotting corpse. I flinched as I thought about this and immediately pushed those thoughts out of my head. I knew it was useless to look for him so I gave up and started heading in the direction I thought was home. But it turned out that I went even deeper inside the forest.

"_Calm down, Max, your fine just retrace your steps, it's nothing but darkness and trees and wind and… creepy sounds, and creepy animal sounds and leaves cracking.._"

Oh God someone was there! I heard leaves crack, I heard leaves _crack_!! I started running in the direction from which I thought I came from, I could hear feet thudding and leaves breaking and I ran even faster. The night air was chilly and it was very cold. I hid in some bushes hoping, that whoever was there would not see me.

I strained my eyes against the darkness and tried to see a silhouette or a figure, to no avail. It was then that I felt two hands take my feet and drag me forcefully out of the bush. I started screaming and trashing, trying to get away from my captor.

The hands that were holding me were strong and suddenly the person who was holding me said, "What in the world are you doing here, Max?" And suddenly I was looking into the familiar beautiful eyes of no one other than Fang.

"Didn't I tell you not to walk through the forest by yourself?" He was mad, I could feel the anger radiating off of him. I was so shocked to see him here, alive, that I forgot to breathe and I couldn't remember how to speak.

Suddenly I surprised myself and him by throwing my arms around him and holding him tight against me. His embrace was warm and comforting and he smelled amazingly good.

"Fang, you're alive, you're here and you're not dead."I couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing, did I finally go crazy? Am I imagining him here? Maybe I was, but at that moment it was only Fang and me, nothing else mattered.

Fang sighed and slowly he relaxed his arms around me and pulled me more tightly against him. He rested his chin against my head and rubbed soothing circles against my back.

"Max, I told you I'd be fine," his voice wasn't mad anymore, it was more soothing and gentle.

"I...I..."

I made the mistake of looking at his eyes and immediately blurted the truth, "I came looking for you. I thought you were dead. You missed school, I hate the place too, but I didn't think you'd ditch it every day. I waited for you to come, but you never showed up..." I stared straight into his eyes and blurted what I didn't want him to know. "I..I..missed you, Fang."

Never, ever in a million years would I have told that to anyone. That was my most embarrassing rant ever! Not only was that embarrassing but I just told those things to…Fang. God, kill me now!

I buried my head in Fang's shoulder and refused to look at him. His hands grabbed my face, and he forced me to stare at him. He gently placed his lips against my ear and whispered, "I missed you too, Max."

His voice made me shiver and I smiled against his shoulder. I felt relief wash through me as I realized Fang was okay and that with him here, I didn't feel alone anymore, because by his I was never truly alone.

**Okay so I know you guys hate that I put Lisa in this story {please don't kill me!!} but I promise that this is the only chapter in which she will appear!!! It was necessary to show Max's family, because now we know why Max is how she is. Please tell me if you like the story so far!!! Review!!! Review!! REVIEW!!! and I'll post the next chapter later tonight!!  
**


	5. By your side

**So thank you all for reviewing, your reviews made my eyes water {seriously}!!! You guys made me write even faster!! I'm not so sure about this chapter, but please tell me if you liked it or not, 'cause it was very hard to write something faxy but not cheesy..so plz tell me what you think...I do not own Maximum Ride, JP does**...

We stood there neither of us saying anything. After a while Fang took my hand and we started walking through the dark forest. I sat down and rested my back against a tree. I had like a million questions to ask him, but I bit my tongue and watched him sit down next to me.

I was still amazed that he was here, and then wondered what he was doing here. It was pretty late and yet here he was at this hour. Fang interrupted my thoughts by moving closer to me and breaking the silence.

"Max, did you have to look for me at midnight?" He raised one of his perfect black eyebrows and his eyes were scolding me.

"It was one of my last minute decisions that are either the right choice or my worst mistake."Then I shrugged and snorted, "Apparently it wasn't a mistake."

Fang shook his head. "Didn't I tell you not to come to the forest alone? Max, you had to know that something might have happened to you, especially at this hour."

Fang looked at me sharply and that immediately pissed me off; I mean I'm the one who's supposed to be mad here, not the other way around. The guy just disappeared from my house, and missed school the whole week! I thought he was DEAD!

I stood up and faced him, my eyes flashing.

"You are in no position to speak Fang! You went and faced, God knows what by yourself and then here you are in the forest. Of all the places, what the hell are you doing here?"

I was fuming, he freaking disappeared! Yet, here he was acting like nothing out of the ordinary happened. I placed my hands on my hips and glowered at him.

"Max, I always take a night stroll through the forest, it's something I do." He called it off, like it was no big deal.

I pursed my lips and glared at him, he was playing all innocent, like if it was normal to take midnight strolls through a dark forest everyday and I had to bite my lip to keep from screaming at him.

"Well what about this; why didn't you come back to school, Fang?" I blurted, practically snarling.

He didn't say anything and I immediately clenched my fists against my sides.

"_Why. Didn't. You. Come. To. School."_ I spat each word at him. I was way mad by now; he was not answering my questions directly. Again.

"Look, Max it was nothing. I had to take care of a few things that couldn't be left undealt with."He looked away from me but I could see his jaw tighten as he said this. I stood there waiting, but he didn't elaborate.

He was sitting down, but unlike before he was now looking at me. None of us moved and after a few minutes, he sighed and motioned for me to sit next to him.

"Look Max, you're tired, I'm tired, and it's been a long day. Why don't you lie down for a moment?" His voice was quiet and it had lost its edginess. I was still pissed at him but I sat next to him anyway. I closed my eyes and rested my head against the tree bark.

I was pretty tired and all, but I didn't want to head home, the fact is that even though Fang made me angry, I was still happy I found him. I cursed internally for how stupid I sounded and mentally kicked myself.

After a while, I felt his hands grab my shoulders and drag me to sit in his lap. I stopped breathing momentarily, and froze. What the hell was he doing?

One of his hands gently pushed my head against his chest and the other hand rubbed my back in a circular motion, making me shiver. His body was warm against mine and I could feel the rise and fall of his chest.

Slowly I relaxed against him and hesitantly wrapped my arms around him, resting my hands on his back. He rested his chin against my head and I felt one of his hands come up and stroke my hair. I shivered against his soothing touch and sighed, almost against my will, and pressed myself tighter against him.

I could feel his even breathing and his breath tickled my neck. I was hyper aware of his hands and even though this was new and weird to me, I liked him holding me like this.

The night was peaceful and comfortable. I could hear the sound of the breeze rustling the leaves around us and could feel the chill of the place, even with Fang holding me tightly against him. It was really dark and even though I couldn't see a darn thing past Fang, I could care less about where I was, which reminded me…

"How come you saw me? It was really dark and even I didn't know where I was going."

His hand stopped stroking my hair for an instant but then he continued and answered, "I see very well in the dark, Max."

I wasn't very convinced by his answer but soon I felt my eyelids drop and I was too tired to ask further questions. Before I knew it, I fell asleep in Fang's lap.

* * *

I woke up in a very compromising position I can tell you that. I blushed as I looked at our embrace, well sort of embrace.

Somehow during the night, I managed to wrap one of my legs around Fang's waist and one of my hands was underneath his arm, around his back. Fang's hand was resting on my waist while the other pillowed his head. My body was completely against his, which made my cheeks get warm.

My head was situated against Fang's chest and his breathing was slow, which told me he was still asleep. His hair was a bit messy and I couldn't help but notice how peaceful he looked in his sleep.

I looked up to see that it was daylight, and glared at the morning bright sun. Ughh! I hate mornings! I stirred and that immediately woke Fang up. He glared at the sun too, and then looked at me. I imagined what I looked like and stifled a groan. I didn't give a shit of how I looked but right now, I felt like a truck driver.

I sat up and grunted, I felt like shit and dressed in shorts and a tank top, I looked like a whore. Besides me, Fang sat up, his shirt and hoodie were covered in dirt, as were his jeans.

I didn't know what to say to him that wouldn't sound awkward or stupid, so I just looked at him and waited for him to say something, anything to break this uncomfortable silence.

What the hell happened last night that made me feel so…so self-conscious? I was so pissed at myself for feeling like this that I stood up and started walking away from Fang.

"Where are you going, Max?" I looked at him sideways and answered curtly, "home."

Mom was going to be mad that I left home, if she even noticed. I wasn't going to tell her I slept in the forest, but I didn't care if she found out, she wasn't the boss of me anyway.

Thinking about the forest made me wonder about the growling Fang and I heard the other day. Last night Fang said he had things that needed to be taking care of, I wondered if it had anything to do with the growling. I also pondered on the fact that I didn't hear any growls last night either. Fang obviously wasn't going to mention any of it, due to the fact that he hadn't spoken of it once.

Fang must have noticed my expression and raised one of his eyebrows, questioning me with his eyes. I was dying to ask him about all that, but I knew that I had to get those answers by myself.

* * *

As we neared my house, I had earned myself a headache and I was cussing under my breath. I stopped at the porch, looked at Fang and sighed.

"Mom's home and so is my bitchy sister. They annoy the hell out of me and if you want to, you can come in but be warned that they will also get on your last nerve so, it's your choice."

He hesitated and I stood there waiting for him to make up his damn mind. I didn't really want him to go, but I also didn't want him to meet my messed up family.

"I'll make breakfast." Okay so I wasn't the best cook ever. Last time I tried to fry eggs they got stuck to the frying pan, literally. However I could pour cereal on a bowl, which was my way of "making breakfast."

He looked up at the mention of food and he shrugged, looking disinterested. I turned around and headed for the living room, with him following closely behind me.

Fang was aware of the other people here; I could see his stiff posture next to me. He looked at everything, studying the unusual clean house, which I guess mom cleaned up, to the annoying scented candles.

I so wanted mom out and if that sounded mean well, it was the truth. I felt uncomfortable in my own home! How stupid was that! I huffed and walked to the kitchen where I assume mom was changing and displacing my food.

"Mom, what the hell did you do?"

Mom was sitting there on the kitchen table, talking on the phone. She looked annoyed and when she saw me, her expression hardened, and I could see something flash through her eyes, but as quickly as I saw it, it was gone.

She mumbled something through the phone and stood up. A fake smile was plastered on her face and I glared at her.

"Good morning, Max. Did you sleep well?" She had the perfect tone mothers would use on TV, but past her façade, I could see something dark in her eyes that wasn't there yesterday, something different.

"Just peachy, "I snarled, "What the hell did you do here?"

"I just fixed a few things, Max. You are much disorganized." She shrugged and sat back down on her chair.

"I'd say sorry to disappoint you, but I wouldn't really mean it."

Her eyes scolded me and she raised one of her eyebrows. When I was little I used to think that with mom being here, I wouldn't feel alone. Now that she was here I regretted ever thinking that. Which is very sad, if you think about it.

"Mom, the sooner you leave, the better." I know it sounded cruel, but when I don't like something, I say it.

Mom didn't look the least bit hurt by my words. She just stared at me, stood up and walked close to me.

"Never forget Max, that I do control you, that I'm the one whom you depend on, you are at my mercy." Her voice was mocking, I could hear her sneer and as quickly as she said it, she turned around and went back to her perfect mom façade.

My eyes flared and I had to clench my fist tight in order to control myself. As much as I wanted to deny it, my mom had a big point and as much as I wanted to scream and throw myself at her, I clamped my mouth shut.

I glared at her and stomped back to the living room, where Fang was waiting. One look from me and he stood up. My face was hard and I said, "Let's go."

All I wanted was to get out of here, away from mom, away from my house and away from my messed up life. As Fang looked at me, I could tell he understood, I could tell he didn't blame me one bit for running away from my problems.

In just one look he showed me how much he really did understand. One of his looks made it all better. One of his looks said it all and I couldn't help but feel grateful that I had him here by my side.

**Okay this is really not my favorite chapter,but please tell me if you Loved it or Hated it, but just so you know, in the upcoming chapter things get really hot!!! So don't stop reading 'cause things are just starting!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! plz!!**


	6. Your Understanding

**Hello people!! I'm really sorry for not updating sooner, it's just I've been going crazy with school, but no worries here is the promised chapter =D. Thanks for everyone who reviewed, I appreciate each and everyone of you *tears*. So this is the chapter we've been waiting for it is faxy and it forshadows too, so keep your eyes open and remember..tell me what you think about it!!! In the upcoming chapter we'll see what the growling is all about so... keep reading!!!**

_Thud!_ I angrily launched a rock over the edge of cliff and heard the small _thud _it did as it collided with the unseen ground. I paced around the cliff's edge and muttered senseless curses under my breath.

Biting my inside cheek so as to not scream in frustration, I finally sat down crossing my legs. I've never had a fight with mom. Ever. So it was pretty frustrating to fight with the one person you thought you could count on, well besides Fang that is. Anybody who saw me right now would have probably thought I was being over dramatic with the whole thing, but let me tell you that having no family you can rely on, is pretty upsetting.

So here I was being all melodramatic, venting my anger by throwing _rocks!! _How lame can I get? Not only that, but I was having a dramatic breakdown in front of…Fang. Kill me now!

He had been quietly sitting down, while I threw a fit about how mom wasn't the boss of me and how she was all fake smiles. I'd told him how mom had really changed and how I used to miss her, until I saw the new side of her.

I told him everything I felt. I vented everything that came to my mind, because he understood. That's why, because he didn't ask questions, he just understood. And that was all I needed from him, his understanding.

From up here in this cliff, you could see the beautiful sky closer than ever. Fang had once told me the sky always made him feel at peace. Looking at it now, I realized what he said was true. It looked so peaceful, that I relaxed and set aside my worries.

I laid down facing the blue sky and marveled at how big and wide it was. Fang was quietly watching me, I guess to see if I was done with my temper tantrum. I turned my head and motioned for him to lie down next to me. After a few moments of hesitation, he did so. The moment he laid down, as if on instinct I grabbed his hand and he pulled me closer to him, comforting me with a simple gesture.

We stayed like that for a while, none of us saying anything, which was not surprising at all. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence though, it was calming and consoling.

When Fang saw I was completely calm again he said, "Max, she's just here 'till tomorrow, then she'll leave."

"I know," was all I said. He was referring to mom. She was going to be gone for I don't know how long and now that I just fought with her; she'll be gone for even a longer time. I ignored that, concentrating on his hands, the one that I was holding.

His hand was soft and warm, but that wasn't what caught my attention. I noticed he had several scars. They weren't everyday scars though, some of them looked like long scratches and some looked like dog bites. I could tell the dogs who bit him, must've been very big, because this bites were pretty wide.

I slowly sat up and grabbed his other hand, inspecting it. It surprised me when I saw long scratches there as well. One of his hands had a scratch that stretched from his hand to his forearm.

Fang was looking at me warily, waiting for me to say something about them. But instead I started tracing his scar with my index finger, all the way from his hand to his upper arm and back again. I looked up at him and noticed he had a guarded expression, but I couldn't figure out why, I mean everyone had scars.

At least I had lots of them and in multiple parts of my body too. So I can say that the bad thing about them is that they don't heal fast, but all in all, Fang's scars looked recently sealed.

The weird thing about the whole thing was that it should have taken scars like that at least a week and a half to heal completely, but I know he didn't have any of those scars during the week, or else I would have noticed. So how come he healed so fast? And where did he get them anyway?

I wasn't going to ask him any of those questions. I had decided that I was going to get those answers by myself. I was determined to figure him out and I was going to do it, without his help.

He still had a guarded expression on when I met his eyes, but when I didn't say anything he raised an eyebrow.

"What no twenty questions?" His voice had that frustrating cocky tone he often used, and just like the last time he used it, it drove me crazy.

I shook my head and pursed my lips, "Are you going to answer them, if I ask them?"

He was hiding a grin by now, "Nope, not likely." His cocky voice was back and it took a lot of willpower not to smack him at that instant.

I inhaled heavily and rolled my eyes at him, my lips still pressed together. "Then there's no point in asking them," I said sounding way less irritated than I felt.

"I suppose," he said, shrugging and looking almost amused by my reactions.

I glared at him and turned around, giving him my back. Yup, that's Fang, one moment he's all understanding and comforting and the next he's all cocky and arrogant. I guess guys are just confusing, overall I mean.

I didn't mind him not sharing stuff with me, I mean he wasn't a big sharer, but the least he could do was hint them. You know like, when you don't want someone to find out something but you throw hints at them, well why couldn't he do that?

I gritted my teeth and heaved out a long sigh. My life was full of question marks and no answers.

I looked up and saw that the sun was setting. Fewer birds were flying around and the sky didn't look as bright as earlier. With a groan I realized it was time to go to the hell hole I called _home._

Fang looked at me sideways and when he saw my expression he nodded reluctantly and stood up, helping me up with him.

* * *

We got home before it got completely dark, stopping just in front of the porch. I asked him with my eyes if he was going to come in, hoping once again his answer was yes and at the same time no. I wanted him to stay with me, but I didn't want him to take a look at what my life was like.

His eyes didn't tell me anything and he looked like he was having an internal struggle with himself. Fang shook his head, as if to clear it and having his resolve, he took a step closer to me.

My breath hitched and I waited for him to say something, anything. But instead he placed his hand on my cheek and traced his fingers from my cheeks, to finally my lips. I usually didn't like the touchy feely emotional crap, but with Fang it was different.

Seeing him all hesitant and unsure made feel weird, all tingly and stupid. I didn't care though and at that moment I leaned into his hand and placed mine on top of his. Slowly his other hand came and grabbed my waist, bringing me closer to him.

He slowly brought his face closer to mine and my heart beat double time when his nose started skimming my neck. His face was mere inches from mine and his nose wandered all the way down to my collar bone and up again. I didn't know what to do since this was all new and weird to me, but ignoring my stupid thoughts, I relaxed against his melting touch.

He pulled back to study my face, searching for something in my expression. What he found must've been reassuring 'cause the next thing I knew his lips were on mine, his arms going around me, holding me against him.

I was so shocked I didn't react at first, but when I realized what was happening, I melted into him. His lips were soft and tender against mine. His hands firm around me, rooting me to place. I placed my hands around his neck and lost myself to the feeling of his tender kiss.

His mouth was warm and inviting as our lips moved in perfect synchronization. Something inside me stirred and the next thing I knew, I grabbed his shirt and pressed my lips more firmly against his. He responded immediately his mouth getting rougher on mine, sending sparks trough my whole body.

My hands tangled themselves in Fang's black, midnight hair and all I could feel was Fang and all I could hear was our uneven breathing. His tongue traced my bottom lip and I shivered, opening my mouth to him. I slanted my face this way and that to get closer to him, making him shiver.

Soon I was running out of breath and with a wild gasp, I tore my mouth from his. I was breathing heavily and my heart was thumping loudly against my chest. I drew deep gasping breaths and if it wasn't for the fact that Fang was breathing just like me, I would have been extremely embarrassed.

I looked up to see Fang's beautiful eyes, bright and soft-looking for the first time ever. A slight smile grazed his swollen lips and my heart squeezed. I probably sounded so stupid and girly but right now I couldn't really care at all.

It was just Fang and me, nothing else mattered. The only person who truly meant something to me was him. The little things I knew about him, made me realize no one would probably made me feel like this and right now gazing into his dark obsidian eyes, I realized how close to him I had gotten in this past week and all it took him was, his understanding.

**Luv it? Hate it? Plz tell me what you think!! REVIEW!! REVIEW!! REVIEW!! it'll make me write faster ;)**


	7. Don't Trust Anyone

**Hey so I'm sorry but the action doesn't come 'till the next chapter 'cause I realized Max's mom hadn't left and I need her to leave before I start the action. If you want to ask questions about the story you can ask and maybe I'll answer them ;) Thanks for you guys how reviewed you're awesome and I love you, I write because of you =D Sorry this chapter is pretty boring but the next one is going to be much more interesting.  
**

**Q. So am I going to write FPOV?? and the answer is no, sadly, not yet 'cause then he wouldn't be as mysterious and unpredictable as we want him to be.**

I sat down on the couch and closed my eyes wanting to crawl in a ditch and die. I could hear Lisa's nasally voice from all the way across the hall. She was crying 'cause her boyfriend left her, shocker right? Not really, but her annoying screams were driving me insane. Knowing her, they will probably make up again and Lisa will probably end up pregnant or with some serious STD's, but I wouldn't care either way.

Mom was on the phone, I'm not sure what she was discussing, but all I know is that she sounded a little mad and her voice sounded strained and cold. So here I was wishing I was someplace else, anywhere but here.

I ignored everything and everyone and thought about last night instead. After my epiphany, I was feeling edgy and a little nervous about seeing Fang again. I didn't like the fact that we got so close in the past week, because that made me feel vulnerable and I've never felt like that before.

So yesterday after he left, I went to sleep with a stupid smile planted on my face, and thinking about what happened. Just the thought of his lips made mine all tingly and stinging. I couldn't sleep at all and not just because of his kiss, but because of him in general.

I ignored my thoughts and focused on what was happening now. Today mom was leaving, hopefully for a long time and I was going to have the house all to myself, just like before. Sometimes my life didn't suck, that bad I mean.

I stood up and headed outside, where mom's car was waiting. I could hear the stomping, screaming Lisa from all the way outside and I could tell she was driving her boyfriend crazy on the phone. I rolled my eyes and waited for mom to hurry the hell up and for both of them to get inside the car.

After a few minutes Lisa walked outside, stomping her 5 inched heeled Prada shoes, wearing some way too short shorts and a low cut shirt, where her cleavage was nastily exposed to everyone. She was clutching her pink cell phone in one hand and her designer's purse in the other.

"What posing for playboy today?" I asked her, shaking my head in disgust.

She looked at me as if I was a bug on her wing shield and tossed her fake red hair. Her face was covered in makeup and her once brown hair was now the color of a tomato, not a good color on her. She crossed her arms and made her boobs purposely lift, what a skank!

"Max, you're just jealous of all this," she made motions with her hand and signaled herself while looking at me with a 'I'm so hot' expression.

"I'm not jealous of prostitutes, Lisa," I snorted and to prove a point I made a pitiful expression at her and walked away from her, leaving her there, gaping at me like a dying fish.

Mom came out of the house ages later, with so many bags you would have thought she stayed here an entire year. She had on a huge smile that if it wasn't for the fact her eyes had a dark tinge to them; you would've believed she was the world's best mom.

She placed her luggage in the car and when she looked ready to go, she came over to me.

We stood like that for a while, in front of each other, neither of us breaking the silence. I sure as hell was not going to apologize for anything I said and if she thought I was, well she was going to end up disappointed, as usual.

Slowly she walked closer to me and tentatively wrapped her arms around me. Her hug made me remember how it used to be between us. All those times I used to wish she came home, that she was here for me when I grew up. All those times I sat with the phone in my hand, waiting for her to call me.

She was the first to break the silence and her voice took me by surprise, it was soft and motherly, "Max, don't forget that I am your mom, and I always be. One day you'll understand lots of things and then you'll know why I'm never around. But just remember that I love you."

I didn't say anything, but my eyes started stinging. I didn't want to cry and much less in front of my mother, but what she said hit me with such force that I bit my lip and concentrated on not crying. Mom has never been so emotional since dad left. She and I are alike in that sense; we never really show how we feel.

She pulled away and headed for her car, where she and Lisa got in and drove away without so much as looking back. She drove away and left me there. Left me standing there, without a second thought. Like those many years ago, when I stood here in this exact same position, begging her to stay here with me, to not leave me. But she drove away, just like today and left.

I sat there on the ground, as memories of me crying 'till I couldn't see mom's car anymore, flooded my brain. Memories of me bawling my eyes out until it got dark. Today I wasn't crying, not like those other times. I got over it, I never cried anymore, but the ache was still there. Mom said she said she loved me but she deserted me, so does that prove she really loves me?

I sat down there, wrapping my arms around my legs and stared at the empty drive way. A single tear rolled out of my eye, as I realized just how empty my life really was.

* * *

When I got inside I headed straight to my room which I found was neat and organized and it made my sulky mood go from sulky to mad. My room was off limits and mom still didn't care enough to listen to me. I looked out the window and noticed how dark it got. Wow had it been that long since mom left?

I headed over to my bed and threw myself on top of it, closing my eyes. I was tired and all I wanted was to sleep off my crappy day.

After a few minutes I heard the bed next to me creak and I tensed, waiting to spring at whoever was there. I could feel the person move closer to me and I freaked out. I threw a sideway glance at my intruder and noticed he was a guy.

In a flash, I tackled the guy and threw a punch at him; apparently he had amazing reflexes because he grabbed my fist. I looked at him for the first time, the guy was no one other than Fang and he was grinning, obviously amused.

He then turned me around and grabbed my other fist, preventing me from connecting it with his nose. I threw him off the bed, and since he still had my fist in his hands we both ended up on the floor. I landed solidly on his chest and his breath left with an _Umph_.

He rolled us so that he was on top and placed my hands over my head, holding them in a solid grip. He raised one of his perfect eyebrows and challenged me to break free of his clutch. I grinned and since I can't resist a challenge, did something I never thought I'd do in a situation like this.

I raised my head and kissed him hard, square on his lips. He was so surprised by this that he loosened his grip on my hands the slightest bit, but that was enough. I shoved him off me and pinned him to the ground, smiling in triumph.

I looked into his eyes and my grin widened, but this time it was because he was here again, with me. With everything that happened today forgotten, I leaned into him and kissed him softly, hesitantly. He responded eagerly, pressing his lips more firmly against mine.

I tangled my hands in his hair and ran my fingers over it, feeling his soft, black hair. His hands found their way around my back and pulled me more tightly against him. His lips were warm and he smelled like the forest, making me feel at home.

I sighed and pulled away, instantly missing the feel of his lips against mine. "Can you tell me what are you doing here?"I asked him.

He stood up and sat on the bed, next to me, "Your mom left." It wasn't a question; he said it in a matter of fact.

"Yeah, that's basically what happened." I looked away from him and focused on the darkness outside. I didn't want to talk about that, especially with him.

"Sometimes being alone is way better than relying on someone." He said it nonchalantly, but I could tell there was more to it than that.

"Not everyone is what they seem, Max." His eyes darkened and he moved a little farther away from me, but not in a way that made me feel like I had something wrong. It was more of a, 'don't trust anyone' gesture.

But oh yeah the problem was that, I already trusted him. Pathetic, right? I know. I didn't say anything to him and he didn't say anything, but as the minutes went by, Fang broke the silence by saying, "Don't take this the wrong but, you look like crap."

And that's pretty much how the night went. I told Fang what happened today, and he seemed interested in what I had to say. I still wasn't sure what was going on between us but right now, I wasn't going to dwell on that fact. The important thing was he was here for me, which showed that he really cared and that meant a lot.

"So you came from the forest just to check on how I was doing?" I asked him utterly shocked and a bit surprised.

"Yeah, I guess so." Fang shrugged and looked a bit uncomfortable and turned his head to look out the window.

"Hey," I said softly, making Fang look at me in the eyes. I stared right into his eyes and then I said the one word I've never said before to anyone, "thanks."

He kept quiet but nodded silently and went back to looking out the window. I laid back on the bed and closed my eyes, "Turns the light off will ya" I told him, while stifling a yawn.

After a few moments, Fang came and lied down next to me, I snuggled closer to him and rested my head against his chest, and before I knew it sleep took over me. With him next to me.

**This was basically a filler and I'm sorry it was short, but it was necessary, so keep reading and remember..REVIEW!!! REVIEW!! PLZ!!!!**


	8. Beautiful Men

**Guys thank's!!! Those were the most reviews I'd have yet, I was so happy I started on this chapter immediately!!! =D Review do make me write ;) Okay so the action starts in this chapter, many secrets are revealed and I'm sorry if it dissapoints, but in my opinion it is the best one I've written. So we get to see Ari in this chapter so yeah's for that!!! Sooo read it, and review!! Oh and I almost forgot, thank's BlackAthena for reviewing in almost every chapter, you're awesome!!!**

I could feel Fang's even breathing throughout the night, which told me he stayed. His silky hair tickled my neck and I could feel the rise and fall of his chest underneath me. It surprised me a bit that he stayed though, but sadly, I didn't mind.

At one point in the night I heard the distant sound of an animal's cry but I was far too gone to recognize it. That is, until I felt Fang stir lightly and slowly slip away from me. I pretended to be asleep and let him move away from me. I was curious as to what he would do and knowing him, he'll probably go off into the forest.

I heard him get off the bed, silently and heard the noise my window did when it was opened. For a minute there I panicked, What if he didn't come back?

At that moment I made my resolve. If I wanted to figure Fang out I had to start looking for answers by myself, without his help. If heading out into the dark, gloomy night was what he did often; well I had to start doing that too. Even if that made me feel like a stalker, but when I want to do something, I do it .

When I heard Fang's landing I waited a few minutes 'till he was out, sat up and jumped off the bed. Looking out my window, I saw the darkness of the night and past it, the dark mysterious forest. The night air was chilly and it made me shiver, but none of those things stopped me.

Slowly I walked over to my opened window and searched for any signs of Fang. As predicted he wasn't anywhere in sight and call me crazy but instead of leaving from my door, I jumped out the window and landed with a small _thump _on the floor.

I scanned the area quickly; looking for possible threats and when I found none, headed off in the direction of the murky forest.

You might think, there she goes again heading off into the forest, did she finally lose it? And let me tell you that you are probably right but since you already know, I wasn't some princess who is waiting on her tower to be saved. I am strong and capable of saving myself; thank -you -very -much.

So I headed into the direction I thought Fang went but didn't see any foot marks or anything. I hadn't been to the forest at night since the day I found Fang and now I remembered why. The forest looked sinister at night, way creepier than during the day. The trees made a shadowy, obscure atmosphere that could make the hairs on your arms rise.

I kept walking, not caring about the gloomy forest and searched for any signs of Fang being here, but to no avail. The breeze was making the leaves rustle and every time I walked I made twigs and leaves break.

In the distance I heard the sound of an animal cry, and it made me freeze for a few seconds.

Something was telling me to get the heck out of here, to turn around and head home, but I ignored my gut feeling and went deeper inside the frightening forest. I was hoping there weren't any stalkers or rapists out there, when something made me stop dead in my tracks.

Something I hadn't heard in almost a week. Something that made the hairs of my neck stand up. I heard the unmistakable sound of a growl. It wasn't a normal dog growl, this growl made your skin crawl. It sounded deep and gruff, which had my heart beat double time.

And just like last week it was coming closer and this time I was all alone. I couldn't run, I couldn't do anything except hear the growling getting closer and closer.

I finally willed my feet to run and when I did; my mind was working overdrive analyzing my situation. 1. My feet were so loud in the quiet night, it was impossible for me to be unheard. 2. I couldn't outrun whatever was out there. 3. The growls intensified and not only that but now, I heard several.

Let me tell you my options weren't good and I couldn't see a way out of this nightmare. So I did what any other person would do, I stopped and turned around, facing the darkness behind me. I mean I'm no sissy; I could take whatever came for me.

When I turned everything grew quiet and the growling wasn't audible anymore. My hands were shaking but I wasn't going to let fear get the better of me, I was going to deal with the problem straight on.

In the distance I heard the horrible sound of leaves cracking and branches snapping, and I immediately panicked. My frantic mind was searching for a way out of the situation when my eyes landed on some bushes that were hid by the shade of some trees.

I didn't think, I acted. My feet, as if moving on their own moved me to the bushes and I prayed that I was safe here. The cracking and snapping came closer and I could feel my heart thumping loudly against my chest.

What I saw next made my breath get caught on my throat. Out of the bushes emerged the most beautiful beings you could have ever seen. I admit that Fang was way hot, but it was nothing compared to these men that came out of the darkness.

They were absolutely gorgeous, stunning runway supermodels, if not hotter. The kind of guys, girls would have paid millions just to touch. They were about four and all of them were half naked. None of them had a shirt. Their chest were well defined, their muscles were clearly seen from here, making them look inhumanly strong.

Everything about them looked perfect but when I noticed their expression, my blood ran cold. Their eyes had a darkness that could make you cringe, making them look dangerous and cold. They gave you a gut wrenching sensation that made you want to hurl.

The one in the front scanned the area, looking superior. He raised his head and sniffed the air, which made him look dangerous.

Everything about them screamed 'Danger' and they oozed a frightening aura. The one in the middle bent over and ran his hand through the dirt. He then brought it to his nose and sniffed it. A cold looking grin spread over his face and he stood up, letting the others sniff his hand too.

The one in the front then spoke up and for someone so beautiful his voice was filled with such spine- chilling bitterness that you wouldn't think possible.

"It seems as though we have company tonight."

His throaty laugh echoed through the forest, making my heart thump wildly against my chest, making me think about how if it accelerated anymore I'd have a heart attack.

"_Ari"_ The middle one spat in a gruff voice, "We have our orders!"

The one in the front, apparently Ari, turned around looking murderous. In a flash he ran his hands through the guy's face, leaving parallel scratches in the guy's face, which immediately started oozing scarlet blood.

"_Sam, I give the orders, and I hope that, helps you understand how it works around here_." Ari's voice was acidic, making some guys back away. His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides.

Sam's cheek had lines of blood running down his ruined face; it was as if an angry bear ran his claws over his face. Making it look like a blood thirsty animal had wrestled him.

With a sick feeling I immediately understood these guys were not what they looked like behind their beautiful façade. They were vicious creatures who could kill you in a matter of seconds.

My gut feeling was telling me that they knew I was here, and with a sinking feeling in my stomach I instantly knew that I couldn't take them all by myself.

Sam threw Ari a murderous glare and continued talking in a sharp voice, "You know what we have to do, don't get sidetracked now."

What happened then was amazing and it made me question my sanity. Sam's cheek, which I was sure had blood dripping two seconds ago, had stopped bleeding completely. I knew for a fact that, something like that didn't happen, with a cut like that you'd need stitches in order to heal correctly, but Sam's cheek wasn't even bleeding.

Was I dreaming this? Did I finally go nuts? I pinched myself over and over trying to wake myself up, but I knew I wasn't asleep. This was real, as horrible as it was, I wasn't capable of imagining this men. Much less their dark, aura filled presence.

Ari turned around and scanned the area, taking in every detail of the forest. My heart stopped beating completely when his gaze landed on my direction and a menacing grin stretched over his face.

He started walking this way, but as if hearing some noise, he cocked his head to the side and stood there listening. His grin faded and a mean looking snarl took over his features.

"Not him again!" Ari snarled suddenly.

He clenched his hands completely and I swear he looked hairier by the second. All the other men circled around him and took defensive stances, as if anything could threaten them! I tried to hear something different in the quiet night but all I heard was the sound of the trees being move by the breeze.

I strained my eyes against the darkness trying to see what they were all afraid of and in the other side of the path a figure stepped out. I couldn't see the person very well, but by his silhouette I noticed he was a guy.

The reason I didn't see the guy very was because he was wearing all black clothes. His dark hair made him look striking and his black eyes I recognized anywhere. The eyes that captivated me the first moment I saw him. Hi eyes that were now looking dangerous and flashing.

With a muffled cry I realized who the person was. The reason I went to the forest was to look for him and he was here facing them. What was wrong with him? Was he one of them? For how long did they know each other?

Fang's eyes were filled with hatred and all his antagonism was directed at Ari. He had on a glare that would've made people shrink. His hands were curled into fists and he spoke with a deadly voice I've never heard him use before.

"_I thought I told you to stay the hell away from here_."He spat icily.

Ari was now looking ferocious and his hard expression was transforming into something different, almost as if he was changing, but trying to control himself. His arms were hairy and I blinked a couple of times to see if I was imagining the sudden change.

"You know Jeb's orders," Ari snarled. "We know our orders and you know yours, we are just following them."

Fang's eyes tightened at the mention of his orders and my stomach knotted, so he was part of this. He was part of whatever it was. Here I was thinking of how much I trusted him, how much I needed him, and he turned out to be part of a murderous clan. Fabulous, just great!

Ari took advantage of Fang's pause and his thunderous laugh roared through the forest.

"My, my Fang you didn't forget your orders did you? 'cause sooner or later you'll have to fulfill them, which is the hardest part, I know. I'll suggest you do them sooner, you know how I hate being _patient_."

Ari took closer steps to Fang and when he got in his face he uttered his last words "You know what'll happen right? I'll take matters in my own hands."

Ari's hand stroked Fang's cheek and in a flash his razor sharp nail made a cut across it. It was smaller than Sam's but it still oozed red blood. My eyes became red; Ari was not going to get away with hurting Fang. I was going to hunt him down like a dog when I figured out what the hell was happening.

I waited to see what Fang made next but his eyes were clouded over as if realizing some truth behind Ari's words. I wanted to yell at him to snap out of it. To fight back, but Fang didn't, instead he took a step back and wiped the blood from his cut.

He seemed to have snapped out of his reverie and now he looked as mad as ever. His eyes flashed and he glared at Ari with a pure hatred that said a thousand things. He came and stood inches away from Ari.

"_Don't you dare touch me again or I promise you I will kill you, even if it's the last thing I do._" Fang put as much venom in his voice as he could. If looks could kill, Ari would have been dead right now.

Ari looked menacing and when he looked at Fang his voice was low and harsh, "Good luck."

Fang didn't so much as flinch and his next words were filled with power and authority, "If I see you or any of you one more time, you won't live to see another day."

And with that Fang turned and disappeared into the night, leaving no trace what so ever that he had been here.

**Luv it? Hate it? REVIEW!! REVIEW!! & REVIEW!!**


	9. Can I Trust You?

**Sorry! Sorry! for not updating sooner, I hope you guys aren't that mad at me!! I am sick, which sucks and school has been such a drag!! I have been so busy!! but I promised myself that today I would update and ta-da!! here it is the next chapter!! ellabella89, I loved your suggestion and i am going to incorporate it later on in the story, but I don't want anything mayor to happen yet so...**

**I hope you guys are still reading my story and I promise to update sooner next time so don't stop reading. Lots of love..angie xoxo  
**

I curled myself into a tight ball from where I was, making sure I made no noise what so ever. My breath was coming in small pants and I tried to muffle them by biting my lip. I could still feel the tension in the atmosphere, making me feel edgy. What now Max? I had been asking myself over and over.

I didn't know how to leave unnoticed. By now I was sure Fang was home and safe, which made some of the tension I felt, ease away. I couldn't think clearly to what had happened 'cause I still wasn't sure if I was dreaming this whole thing. But if so, why did those _things _seem so real, impossible to imagine?

I shook my head and concentrated in what those men were saying. I didn't move a muscle in fear they acknowledged my presence. Instead I turned my head slightly and strained my eyes, to look at what they were doing.

"What do we do now, Ari?"

One of the guys I didn't recognize, stepped forward and roughly shook Ari's shoulder, making me cringe at what was coming.

Ari's feet were rooted to the ground, his lip was curled in a snarl and his clenched hands were by his sides. I guess Fang's warning had him mad, a bit. Well maybe more than a bit, but Fang tended to do that sometimes.

Ari slowly turned around and looked, more like glared, at the person who spoke. His mouth stretched into a tight line making his features look slightly older. Will it kill him to smile once in a while?

He forcefully grabbed the guy by his collar and looked at him in the eyes, not bothering to stop himself from giving into the anger he felt.

"_We wait_", Ari spat, "If Fang isn't _cooperative_ we step in."Ari grinned suddenly and added, "I have a feeling we will take matters into our own hands, and _soon." _

My gut wrenched at this information and I sucked in a breath. Were they going to hurt Fang? What did these people want anyway?

None of my questions seemed to have had an answer. I could tell these people weren't going to give up whatever they wanted and I knew for a fact Fang wasn't either. Still I felt nervous for him. All of them, against Fang?

Fang was strong, not that I stared at his muscles or anything, but these guys together were stronger and bulkier, not to mention taller than him. I started thinking of Fang's odds on winning against them, and shuddered, pushing the thought out of my mind.

I heard the sound of feet shuffling and moving closer to where I was hiding. My breathing hitched for like the fourth time today and I closed my eyes, focusing on becoming invisible. The footsteps came closer and stopped right in front of me.

I had no choice but to look up and when I did, my breath caught in my throat. Staring at me was the most beautiful face I've seen, it wasn't possible to imagine what the person behind the face could do to you.

My eyes landed on his and his tight lips formed a taunting grin that took over his face. He didn't give me time to react. In one swift movement Ari had grabbed my wrist in his hand and had forcefully pulled me up. My heart practically hammered my chest and when I looked at him, he sneered at me.

_What now? What now? Think Max, think! _

I didn't have time to come up with an answer because Ari shoved me so hard that I landed with a hard _thump _on the floor, three feet away from the rest of them. I looked up at their faces, and glared at them, making it clear how much I disliked every single one of them.

When my gaze met Ari's hard one, I snarled at him, letting him know how strong my hate toward him was. I clenched my fist against sides waiting for them to spring at me. If I went down, I was going to take some with me.

Ari kneeled in front of me and took my chin, forcing me to stare at him. I reacted strongly to that, I bit into his calloused hand with as much force as I could muster, until I could taste the strong flavor of his blood.

Ari let out a strong yelp and struggled with his hand, which I refused to let go of. His other hand blurred, and the next thing I knew he slapped me so hard, the force of it threw me several feet back. I held a hand to my stinging cheek and spit some of his blood out.

I knew my cheek was going to get a nasty bruise but I didn't care. I raised my head to see an angry Ari, cradling his hand and making his way toward me. His hand came down and grabbed a fistful of my hair, making me wince, but I made sure no sound escaped my lips.

I struggled to get free of him, but his hands grabbed my neck and shoved me against a tree, making my breath leave in a _whoosh_. His hands gripped my neck, choking me, leaving me breathless and struggling to get some air.

"_Enough Ari"_ Sam said. I had completely forgotten about the rest of the men and when I looked at them they all looked wary, unsure of what to do. Ari stared at Sam, his eyes narrowing and with a murderous expression plastered on his face.

Reluctantly he released me, making me drop like a rock, gasping and coughing. Ari kneeled before me, and grabbed my face again, challenging me to do something against him. I was stubborn not stupid, so I didn't do anything, to his satisfaction.

"You see how it works around here, don't underestimate me again, or you will end up regretting it" his voice was steel and it made the hair on my back stand up. I felt like jelly, but I ignored my aching muscles and glared at Ari with such loathing, the other guys took a step back.

"Don't. Ever. Touch. Me. Again."My voice dripped venom, and I didn't remove my gaze from his, making it clear I wasn't afraid of him.

"Well then if that's the way you want to play it, then so be it."

His long nail sliced my jaw in such a quick motion; I sucked in a breath at the sharp pain it brought and when I touched my jaw, I felt the warm liquid oozing from my cut.

"Have that as a warning my dear Max, and tell Fang that time is running out."

Without another word he disappeared into the shadows, with the others following behind leaving no evidence they were ever here.

* * *

I was so shocked I didn't move from where I was for several minutes. My gut churned and something told me my name wasn't the only thing that they knew. Look at the positives Max, the positives. At least I made it out of here in one piece, more or less.

My cheek stung and my neck felt on fire, but other than that I was okay. I stood up and started limping in the direction I thought was home. I wondered if Fang was still there or if he had already left. Part of me didn't want to see him and part of me did.

For the first time I asked myself if I trusted him completely. I had gotten so close to Fang in the past week that I wasn't sure how I was going to deal without him. I couldn't let myself think he was one of them, I just couldn't. What I felt for him was more than a school crush, I relayed on Fang, I needed him. As corny as it sounded, it was the truth.

It was so dark I thought I was running in circles for a while. I couldn't see a darn thing in this forsaken forest. I didn't want to run into Ari again, I felt exhausted as it was. All I wanted was to curl up in a ball and forget all my worries, forget all I saw today.

I stopped and looked at the familiar surroundings, in the distance I thought I could make out the familiar shape of my house and without thinking about it, I raced toward it. I searched for my bedroom window to find it open and I climbed through it, making sure not to make any noise what so ever.

When I stepped inside my room I eyed everything warily but to my surprise no one was here. My hopes of seeing Fang crashed and burned right then. It shouldn't have bothered me after all I saw today, but it did.

I thought about the way I had wanted answer to my questions and laughed at the irony of having even more questions than answers. I really didn't want to think about any of it, I felt miserable enough already. I kicked of my shoes and got ready to sleep everything off.

I got the feeling I was being watched and when I looked up I saw Fang from across the room and my heart thumped unevenly inside my chest. After everything I told myself I still couldn't understand how he managed to get this reaction out of me.

He was truly gorgeous and even with the glare he threw my way I could see it. I could see his eyes narrowed at me and from the way his lips formed a tight line I could tell he was mad. He stood in the dark shadow next to my window, with his arms crossed over his chest.

I stood there where I was and regarded him calmly. He had the actual decency to be mad at me! Wasn't that something? Instead of me being mad at him, he was mad at me. Fabulous, just amazing!

With everything going on, me feeling like crap, my patience ran thin and him pushing it was really not so good. I copied him and crossed my arms over my chest, raising an eyebrow at him. From here I could see the scratch Ari gave him, and blinked twice since it looked almost healed.

Instinctively I touched my own cut and winced when I still felt blood ooze out of it. Fang sighed and walked over to me, I could still see the way his jaw was clenched but when he placed his hands on my face, I forgot I was mad at him.

"Let me see it" he said. His quiet voice was controlled, not revealing anything. He guided me toward the bed and sat next to me in it. I turned my face so he could get a better look at it and he wiped some of the blood with his shirt.

"It's nothing, the branches got in my way" I lied. He clearly heard the lie in my voice 'cause the next thing I knew he had stood up and his hands had clenched at their sides.

"What the hell were you doing out there?" He was way mad I could tell, but he needed to know the truth and maybe then he would tell me what was up with Ari and his clan.

"I wanted some answers to my questions" I replied stubbornly. "And since you didn't want to share, I decided to follow you."

"_Don't you know how dangerous it is outside Max_?" His voice had risen slightly and his control slipped. "_Don't I keep telling you that you shouldn't go to the forest alone_?"

"Fang, I had to." I said quietly, the last thing I wanted was to fight with him, but here he was making it harder by the second.

"_Why?"_ he asked through clenched teeth. "Those men you saw out there, they aren't good Max, they aren't what you think they are-"He cut himself off. I could tell he wanted to say more but something was stopping him. And I hated that, I wanted him to trust me.

"What exactly are they?" I looked at him, begging him to tell me. I was sick of this charade; he could at least tell me what they were.

He pursed his lips, and didn't speak. He looked like he was struggling with himself and in the end he gave up and sighed.

"If I promise to tell you, will you stop going to the forest alone?" He didn't look at me, instead he looked at the forest through my window and shook his head, his brow furrowing.

I stood up and walked up to him, grabbing one of his hands and making him look at me. His eyes held so many emotions that I had trouble breathing. I could tell I had worried him and that made me feel very guilty, and I have never felt _guilt_ before.

I did trust him. I trusted him with everything I had. His eyes told me so many things that I wondered how I ever doubted him. Can I trust Fang? Yes, I will always trust him.

**Not the best chapter I know but still necessary, I promise to put more Fax in the next chapter, I'm just VERY loopy with my meds, I laugh at everything and I fell off my bed this morning Ugh! I hate getting sick..anywho please review!! REVIEW!!! if you have any suggestions or questions don't hesitate to ask or share!!!!! ooo REVIEW!!**


	10. Tell Me

**I am so so so sorry!!!! A million times sorry, I haven't updated in a week. I have been sick and frankly I make suckish chapters when I'm sick. I also had absolutely no time to write but today, I decided to hurry the hell up and write the chapter I promised you. My apologies once again, I promise I won't take so long next time, but I hope you wonderful people understand. To make it up to you I wrote a long chapter with lots of Fax. Lots of thanks to my faithful reviewers I absolutely loved each review and you were the reason I posted another chapter.  
**

**This chapter is one of my least favorite though, nothing majorly interesting happens but it does have fax. Tell me what you think abut it and if you have suggestions please tell me about them and don't forget, the more peolple who review the faster I update so keep reading...xoxo angie  
**

I lay on the side of my bed facing Fang. His body was shifted toward mine and emitting a strange warmth that spread through my whole being. His arms were holding me protectively against him, comforting and strong.

Fang didn't say anything about answering my questions but his eyes had betrayed him so that I knew he was close to caving, it was just a matter of time though, and I'd wait. I mean I'm not a patient person but I could make an effort.

I thought about how he'd looked at me earlier tonight, how he tried telling me a bunch of things without saying anything, and I let out a confused sigh.

After Fang promised to tell me about Ari, I'd quietly closed the window and positioned myself in my bed, gathering the courage I could muster to face whatever he was going to say. I'd looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to finally reveal some of the answers to my questions. But to my total disappointment he shook his head and said, "Not now Max, tomorrow."

And giving me no time at all to argue with him, he got on the bed next to me and pulled me beside him, resuming our current position.

My fingers skimmed his arm, making their way up to his shoulders and back down again. He was wide awake and he shuffled closer to me, cutting our distance short. He reached for my face and started tracing my lips with the tip of his index finger.

I shivered against my will and my hands moved from his arms, to his chest and all the way up to the back of his neck, where I played with his black hair. One of his hands circled my waist and he pulled me completely against him, making a quiet gasp escape from my lips at our sudden proximity.

I looked up in the darkness to meet his eyes and shivered at the intensity behind them. My whole body was fully aware of his hands which roamed the bottom of my shirt, tracing the skin above my hips, his thumbs leaving circular trails of hot fire there.

I decided to explore a little on my own and I let my hands wander from his neck, down his back and up again, sliding my hand through the front of his shirt to trace the lines of his defined stomach. Fang made a low sound in the back of his throat and he rolled us so he was on top.

My breathing sped up and he lowered his head and started to place soft, tender kisses along my jaw line, down my neck and back up again, making my eyes shutter close, not wanting this incredible feeling to end. Slowly, gently he placed his mouth on mine. His lips soft and tender, like our first kiss had been.

With a jolt I realized I didn't want to be gentle. I crushed my lips more firmly against his and rolled us over so that I was on top. My hands went to his midnight hair, tugging and running my fingers through it, over and over again. The tip of my tongue traced his warm, full lips and he groaned at the feel.

Fang's mouth nudged mine open and let his tongue edge just past my teeth, making me yearn for more of him. I reveled in the feeling of his tongue entwining with mine and moaned from the prickling sensation.

This kiss was better than the last one, maybe because of its intensity or that this time we were really alone and in complete darkness, but kissing Fang just kept getting better and better.

Soon both of us were out of breath and I was the first one to pull away. His mouth never left me though, his lips moved down my jaw to my neck, and lingered on my collarbone, leaving wet, fiery kisses everywhere his lips touched.

I felt his hot breath travel from the side of my neck all the way up to my ear and when I heard him speak, I shivered at the sound of his voice.

"Tell me," Fang breathed seductively, "Why did you follow me tonight?

He started kissing my temple, running his lips down to my cheekbones and lingering at the edge of my mouth. He was making me dizzy and I couldn't concentrate on his questions, which was so not fair.

"Was there really any need to do so? Even when you knew I wanted you to stay here?" He whispered, pulling away from me and sitting up.

His voice didn't sound mad or accusing, he said it all matter of factly, like he was letting me know what I did wrong, and if it wasn't for the fact that this boy was driving me crazy, I would have been arguing about what I did, even though now that I think about it, roaming the forest at midnight didn't sound like a good idea.

I sighed and looked up at the ceiling, not daring to look at him, afraid of his expression. I decided to speak to him this way, blurting out the whole truth before I could have second thoughts about it.

"I felt you leave and I was afraid…Not for me, but for you. I kept thinking of the possibilities of something happening to you and about what you are really hiding and I went after you. So not thinking clearly of what I was doing, I ended up lost and finding…Ari." My voice was barely a whisper, telling him as little details as possible.

"I saw them, I saw you. After you faced them, Ari lost it a bit with me and we ended up almost fighting, until Sam called it off and Ari and his followers left." My voice had an edge to it as I remembered the night events, how badly I had wanted to rip Ari's head off.

I looked at Fang then, examining his reaction. His eyes were darker than usual and his mouth was pressed in a tight line and for like the hundredth time tonight I waited for him to say something.

Sighing he pulled me up, hugging me to him in a warm, protective embrace. Fang spoke up minutes later, his voice barely audible in the quiet night.

"I know Ari from way back." Fang said carefully, choosing his words correctly. "We grew up in the same place. Max, out there things aren't always what they seem. Ari's not the same as you or any other kids at school. Sometimes things…happen that change a person."

He turned me to him, gauging my expression. I just raised an eyebrow at him, urging him to elaborate.

He spoke only after a couple of minutes, weighting what he could and couldn't tell me, and after having his resolve, he spoke. "For now all you have to know is that he is bad news. I'd very much like it if you stayed away from him and his…pack."

"What about you? Don't tell me you can take them all by yourself!" I challenged. Fang may be right but that didn't mean I was going to let Ari intimidate me.

Fang laughed darkly, the sound low in his throat, resembling a growl. "I wouldn't worry very much about myself, Max."

Warning bells sounded off in my head, but I ignored them. I decided that I was going to stay the hell away from the forest and when Fang decided he was going to really tell me about the Ari business, I was going to do something about him.

Settling on this thought I lay down and decided to sleep off the day events, wanting sleep to take me into a dreamless slumber. Ignoring the way my gut told me that Fang didn't tell me half of what was really going on.

* * *

When I woke up I found myself alone in the bed. With a groan I realized today was Monday, which meant I was late for school. Again. Oh well, better never than late.

I fumbled with the bed sheets and let them drop, standing up and looking around for any traces of Fang. I doubted he went to school without waking me up but he was nowhere in sight. I furrowed my brow and asked myself if last night happened. The more I thought about it, the more I wasn't sure.

Heading to the bathroom, I looked at my reflection in the mirror and had to suppress a mortified groan. My brown hair was matted and disheveled. My face was dirty and had a few scratches here and there, with the fine exception of the ugly scar left by Ari. Completed with the purplish bruise from when dear Ari slapped me, I would have caused fashion agents to get strokes.

I decided to take a hot shower to get me relaxed and clean again. I started thinking of what Fang might be doing, and a small smile made its way to my lips when I thought about him, making me curse by how girly I've had become.

Heat rushed to my face as I thought about our kiss and my not so disguised response to it. I didn't know how he managed to get this reaction out of me, especially my most embarrassing ones like last night.

I walked out of the bathroom, my wet hair dripping, with a towel wrapped around my body. I realized that in my distraction I had left my clothes in my room, _good going Max, just perfect_!

I ran all the way to my room and to my total embarrassment I found Fang sitting on my bed. Just the perfect time for him to show up right! Note the sarcasm. He looked up at me when I came in and raised an eyebrow, the hint of a cocky smile grazing his lips.

My face flushed and before I could yell at him to get out, he stood up and walked his way over to me. I felt very self-conscious in a towel and the fact that he stood there inches away made my breathing speed up.

My face was beet red by now and just as I was about to bolt from the room, he took a step closer. My eyes widened a bit and I took a step back, putting a little distance between us.

Either he didn't care or he didn't notice the warning in my eyes, but he took another step closer to me and placed his hands on my hips, making me shove him in a defensive motion. Fang's lip curled a bit and two seconds later he had me pressed against the wall. Did I mention I was in a freaking _towel_!

"You have exactly three seconds to get the hell away from me and out of my room before I do something both of us will later regret." My voice was surprisingly calm and even, the opposite of how I really felt, but the warning was still there.

Fang chuckled a bit at that, but the sound came out hoarse, the sound so sexy that I gripped my towel tighter around me and started making my way around him, working hard to keep my self control from slipping.

He wasn't having that. In a quick motion Fang grabbed my arms and swooped down capturing my lips with his. His smell intoxicated me, the smell of the forest earthy and musky, reminding me of home. His smooth lips moved roughly against mine, wanting to get closer, yet knowing his boundaries.

His hands moved from my arms to my sides and took hold of my waist, pressing me to him more firmly but not daring either. He pinned me against the wall, and kissed my neck, finding my pulse and biting lightly on it, making a wave of desire wash through the last bit of willpower I had, I pushed him away, making him stumble backward. His eyes were so dark and wild that I couldn't speak for a long time.

"That was out of line." I didn't sound mad though as I should, breathless and exited were a better description of my voice. I looked pointedly at Fang, my eyes said "push me and I'll kill you"and he laughed, for the first time ever, he laughed. The sound so musical it made me want to throw myself at him.

He smiled his full, stunning smile and made my heart squeeze, but his smugness ruined the moment

"Not my fault I have no self-control."

Before I could smack him for his irritating cocky answer, he leaned down and gave me a chaste kiss, cutting off any nasty word I was about to call him and chuckling he left the room, shutting the door behind him.

**As I said not the greatest chapter ever but good nonetheless, again reviews make a happy girl and a happy girl equals a faster update. I love you lot's!!!!!! REVIEW!!!!!REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!!!! PLZ**


	11. Stay Away From Me

**Hey guys!! This chapter is one of the best I've written, it is the one we have been waiting for so yeah!!!!! anywho, I know some of you already guessed Fang's secret but in this chapter Max finally learns what it is so yeah's for that!!! I already had this chapter planned a long time ago and I couldn't have doen it without you RAWR I'M A VAMPIRE**, **so thanks. I apologize if it isn't what you expected but I had fun writting the chapter.**

**SO REVIEW!! and tell me your opinion on this chapter precisely, I want to know what you think of it.  
**

For the next couple of days all was good, for once. Fang practically lived with me, not that I complained or anything, but we spent our whole time together.

The days were calm and natural but I still felt like a storm was somehow coming. Like the time before a storm where everything seemed to be calm and okay, but deep down you knew something big was about to unfold. Well that's how I felt, wary, waiting for the storm.

I was just heading out from school, this time alone. It seemed like such a long time since I'd been alone that I had forgotten how lonely it felt. Fang had said he couldn't walk me home today, saying he had to leave school early. He didn't specify why but I didn't pry him into telling me.

It had been such a long time since I didn't go into the woods that I decided to go today. Fang had said not to take the path through the forest, but when did I ever do what people told me to do? So me being well me, ignored him and took the short way home.

Being in the forest during the day was way different than at night. During nighttime trees made a shadowy atmosphere, making the forest look dark and sinister. The forest was always much calmer during the day, the place making you feel ill at ease.

It felt like forever since I didn't welcome the smell of the trees, the singing birds, and the sound of the chirping squirrels. I had grown up with the forest; it had become a part of me. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed it until now.

Leaves made crunching sounds when I stepped on them. The trees were rustled by the wind and the way too long grass danced in the breeze. Everything smelled earthy and musky, the smell so amazing it reminding me of Fang.

I walked toward a grassy area deeper inside the forest and decided to just sit there for a while. I felt calmed here, like if I was in some faraway place. I was wishing Fang was beside me, reveling in this amazing tranquility. He always liked feeling at peace and being quiet.

Thinking of him now made me think of that cliff where we'd gone to ages ago, here in this forest. It had been the second day we had really talked, making me like him almost from the start, as cliché as that sounded.

Standing up, I made my way over to the direction of where I thought the mountain side was, feeling the sudden urge to visit the cliff.

I was hoping Fang was going to be there, looking all silent and admiring the beautiful sky. It always seemed that he was more at ease with the sky than with anybody else.

He had an amazing sense of direction when it came to guiding me through the forest, especially during nighttime, where everything was so pitch black. I didn't know what there was to him or how he could do that but nothing in this world was what I expected anymore.

Nearing the cliff I pushed my backpack off and tied my hair in a disorganized bun, preparing myself to climb to the top. I scanned the area around me searching for possible threats and when I found none, climbed my way to the top.

As usual, when I reached the top I marveled at the beautiful scenery in front of me, as breath taking as always. Being up here made me I wish I could just fly. It must feel amazing to just look at everything from a higher ground, taking every detail from up high.

I laid down on the cushioning grass and spread my arms and legs, letting the wind tug and blow at my hair. Automatically I closed my eyes and thought about how without Fang something felt missing, like the cliff became solitary without him. And even though deep down I knew something about him was off, I couldn't help but miss him.

I promised myself I wouldn't stay here very long. It wasn't that I didn't want to stay, I totally did, but the fact is sometimes what I wanted didn't always turn how I wanted it. So settling on this thought I relaxed and let my mind wander to unimportant things.

I felt myself slowly slipping into unawareness and before I knew it, I'd fallen asleep on the cliff ground.

* * *

I woke up to the feeling of something soft tickling my face, making my nose twitch. Blinking groggily I became aware of two things. One, night had settled while I had snoozed off and now you could hardly see a darn thing! Two, I couldn't climb down this damn cliff while everything was pitch black!

How would I get home now? Thanks to my brilliant idea of coming here I was now stuck! _Oh man! Oh man! Calm down, Max! Think, be practical. _I sat up slowly and felt something fall off my face.

Squinting my eyes, I noticed the source that woke me up turned out to be a small black feather. I picked it up and flashed it in the moonlight, stroking it lightly. The other day I had found just like it in my bed, completely black, like the ones ravens have. How it got there? No clue. Funny thing how it landed _right on my face!_

Chuckling to myself like a crazed person, I stood up and started feeling around slightly in order to feel the ground beneath me and not fall flat on my butt. I was a bit nervous about being in the forest, _again _at night but decided to deal with my problems one at a time.

My sneakers felt the cliff ground trying to find the way to climb down. I didn't notice I had neared the very edge of the cliff before I realized too late that there was no ground beneath me and that I was on the wrong side of the cliff, slipping and falling toward my death.

Everything went by so fast I didn't have time to react. I was gliding, more like spiraling toward the hard solid ground and with a devastated cry I realized I'd die, without ever kissing Fang again!

I screamed at the top of my lungs as cold air blasted my face making me choke and gag. In a pathetic attempt to save my life I flapped my arms up and down trying to fight gravity, knowing what a useless attempt it was. With a strangled cry I closed my eyes and prepared myself for impact, praying it ended rapidly.

In the next instant I felt something violently grab the back of my blouse and felt my neck collar choke me, cutting off my screams. With a strong shove, something yanked my shirt upward and the next thing I knew I was floating, being elevated upward by an unseen force.

_Did_ _I die already? Was it so fast I didn't feel it?_

In a frantic moment I opened my eyes and turned my head to look at what held me. The darkness of the night didn't help my eye sight much but nobody could mistake the outline of wings in the dark. Nobody could mistake those wings, the black feathers that seemed to be everywhere these days.

I screamed so loud the thing holding me dropped me and then I was falling _again, _dropping like a rock, this time backward. The winged being turned above me and I could make out the outline of a silhouette, a too familiar silhouette, a silhouette I had memorized in the past weeks. The reason I had come out here in the first place.

_No!!! _My mind screamed. _This is not real, this can't be happening! _

He grabbed my shirt with one of his hands and covered my mouth with his other hand, silencing my frantic screams with the motion. I didn't take that too lightly though so I bit his hand hard, feeling hysterical, resuming my screams.

"What the hell! Do you want to die?! Stay put!" He shouted over my shrieks, and his voice made me realize I wasn't dreaming, as much as I wanted to believe this was a dream, a horrible nightmare in which he had wings, I know it isn't.

This just made me scream higher and I wrestled with him in the sky, trying to get as far away from him as possible. I didn't want to believe it, couldn't make sense of what was happening.

_What the hell was he?_

"Get the fuck away, you're not real!" I screamed at him, tears of anguish pooling my eyes.

He ignores my shouts and grabs me by the waist, turning me around in the sky, making me face the ground before me and pinning my flaying arms together. I stop screaming, knowing that it really is no use, the bastard won't let me go.

We reach the side of the cliff, _our_ cliff and my stomach churned at the thought. He lowered me to the ground and when I finally landed I sprinted as far away from him as possible. When I had a good space between us I finally looked at him, all of him.

Standing a few feet away from me was the angel of death himself. Beautiful black hair, dark clothes that contrasted his olive toned skin and the same eyes that captivated me. The most beautiful eyes I'd seen, eyes that were unreadable, unapproachable.

But worst than his eyes I could see his…_wings_. His Black and astonishing wings emerged from his back and stretched on either side of him. His feathers were ruffled by the wind, dark as the night. His wings the color of his eyes and soft looking, like a ravens were.

He looked like a fallen angel, something out of this planet and I had the sudden urge to touch his wings, to caress his feathers lightly and to curl up beside him letting the warmth of his skin, tingle mine. I angrily pushed those thoughts away and took steps farther away from him.

Tears welled up in my eyes and I couldn't believe he had hid something so important from me. I told him everything. He knew everything about me and I trusted him dearly, but I found out the worst possible way about his secret and in a passing thought I asked myself if he was ever going to really tell me.

My head started to spin and I slowly fell to the ground, sitting with my knees against my chest. I did what any other messed up person would do in my situation, I cried. I cried silent tears over a guy who I never thought could lie in such away about his life, over a guy who didn't possibly care of hurting me in the process. He was never the guy I thought he was.

Fang started making his way over to me, I could see he was torn and I knew he wanted to come to me, but I couldn't handle his act right now.

"Stay the hell away from me." My voice sounded louder than I expected, startling both of us.

He paused mid-step but shook his head and came closer to me anyway, ignoring my warning. His eyes begged with mine, but I looked away, not wanting to look at his eyes right now. He was inches away from me and when his hand made contact with my cheek I cringed visibly and a slight tear escaped my eye.

"Don't touch me…" I whispered brokenly.

He watched me for aclong, painful second. His eyes darker than usual and his face impassive. The next thing I knew he forcefully pulled me up and made me sit in his lap, not caring of my cries of protest or the way I fought him for a while. I finally I gave up and started weeping on his shirt. Feeling bad about how even though right now the least I wanted to do was be near him, It felt good to be with him.

**Wow a little Max drama doesn't hurt anyone!! REVIEW!!!! REVIEW!! AND I"LL UPDATE SOONER PROMISE!!! anyway sorry for the wait this time, my computer is kinda loopy but at least it works! So don't forget review plz!! Luv u!!!**


	12. Time's Up

**Hey loyal readers and amazing people! I want to thank you all for those wonderful reviews that I received. They were spectacular and I even cried in some of them so keep 'em going! I just wanted to say sorry for the longest update yet! My internet has been very crappy and here in Puerto Rico a small earthquake had some of us startled so again sorry but an update wasn't possible 'till today :DD! Any way to make up for the wait I wrote an extra long chapter! so yeah! again sorry, I can't tell you how sorry I am!**

_Stop Max! Get it together and stop it, you're acting like a little girl! _

I angrily wiped the tears from my eyes after I thought my pathetic breakdown was under control. Feeling hurt and angry I pushed him away with all the strength I could muster and him not expecting my shove, fell to the ground.

"I repeat: don't touch me!" My voice sounded stronger now that my initial shock was replaced by anger. Standing up I moved away from him and clenched one of my hands, preparing to punch the living day lights out of him in case he didn't get the message.

He wiped his hands on his jeans and stood up, assessing my tear stained face. He ignored my warning and he took little steps closer to me. When I snarled at him he paused in mid step, hesitating. I could see his pained expression from here but I could care less about what he felt this time.

He stared at me for a long time before trying to speak. "Listen Max, I–" but I cut him off before he could utter a sentence.

"Why should I listen to _you_ Fang? I trusted you! I told you everything about me and you couldn't tell me something as important as you having _wings_! I understand that maybe it wasn't the right time or that you weren't ready but you weren't even going to tell me, were you?" I yelled at him.

"Max, you have it all wrong−"he started but got cut off.

"_I _have it all wrong?" I shouted, walking closer to him and getting all in his face. "You bet I did 'cause here I was concerned about you, wondering what your deal possibly was, only to know you'd been sneaking around, meeting Ari _and_ hiding your _whole_ life from me. I'm telling you how wrong I had it! You actually have the decency to ask me to listen to you? Why should I? I spent weeks Fang, _weeks_ with you and now I actually realized I have absolutely no idea of who you are! Enlighten me Fang; tell me why I should give a damn about what you could possibly say."

My words were annoying the crap out of him, I could tell. His eyes were flashing and he kept pinching the bridge of his nose in a sign I recognized as annoyance. What irked me was that he stood quiet; taking everything I threw at him, which was so unlike him. He stood motion-less, letting me bait him, but his posture and the stiffness of his jaw gave him away.

I wanted him to answer me, I wanted to see him try to get away from this one but he just pressed his lips firmly together and said nothing. I walked so close to him that my nose was inches away from his and baited him even further, or tried to.

"Well, are you going to stand there all night or are you going to do–" and then I was cut off by his lips. Completely stunning me, he forcefully grabbed my face and roughly pulled it up to meet his, cutting off any remark or statement I was about to utter. His angry lips moved hard against mine, his mouth slanting over mine again and again, cold and harsh.

I could tell how mad he really was; he poured every emotion he hadn't given away into this kiss. I tried to fight him, I really did but he wasn't in the mood to fight. He grabbed my wrists in his hands and furiously pushed me to the ground, where he pinned my arms to my sides. Forcefully opening my mouth to him, his mouth claimed my own in a firm, solid kiss.

He pulled away abruptly and stared at me with a smug expression fixed on his face. Once he noticed my breathlessness, a smirk appeared on his flushed face and he cocked his head to the side. Leaning over me, he placed both hands on either side of my head and placed his mouth next to my ear.

"Now are you going to listen to me?" He asked cockily once I could breathe again.

That did it. I grounded my teeth together and slapped him hard, across his face, making his head tilt sideways. A look of disbelief crossed over his features and his arrogant smirk was wiped off his face. He sat up and held a hand to his stinging cheek, as if not believing I just slapped him. When he looked at me again he wasn't so smug anymore, quite the opposite really.

"What the hell Max?" He yelled at me angrily.

"What do you think Fang? Why the fuck did you just kiss me?" I yelled back, trying to remove myself from underneath him. He wasn't having that. His hands came down and he gripped my wrists, not abusively, but with enough strength to pin them to the hard ground.

"You are an idiot." He said through gritted teeth. I opened my mouth to say something witty but apparently he knew better because he placed his hand on my mouth, silencing me. He continued talking and ignored my speaking efforts.

"Look, first of all let me make this crystal clear. I am _not_ working for Ari, Ever. I am _not_ sneaking around to get acquainted with _any_ of them actually. So don't talk about us as if we are from the same 'team'. Look the less you know about them the better for you, I don't want you to _ever _see any of them again." He spoke through gritted teeth and squeezed my wrist lightly.

"The night you saw us talking, I was telling him to back off and get the hell away from here. I never wanted you to head off into the forest at night and see us but you being _you _decided to follow me and accidentally stumbled across the worst people possible, them; when all the while I wanted them to stay away from you!" He shook me lightly, trying to get me to see things from his point of view. Taking a deep breath, he shook his head and didn't say anything else.

He looked away from me and stared at the dark trees behind me. He removed his hand from my mouth, allowing me to speak. For once I didn't know what to say, though. I was always so fixed on uncovering his 'big' secret that I hadn't placed much thought into what he could possibly be doing in the forest. And all the while he was trying to get Ari out of range. God I feel bad now!

He took a big breath and let it out before looking at me. He let go of his hold on my wrists and removed himself completely from me. Not removing his gaze, he slowly sat down in front of me, measuring how I'd react to his closeness now that he wasn't trying to kiss or touch me.

I was finally looking at him, I could see his wings properly and I couldn't look away from them. He noticed this too and maybe that's why he wanted to sit in front of me, so he could gauge my reaction to them. Sighing, he looked past his shoulder and glanced at his right wing, black as mid-night and looking incredibly soft.

He lifted his hand and touched his beautiful wing briefly before pulling out a feather and holding it in his hand, examining it. I stared at the feather closely and wondered why it looked so familiar. Recognition flared through me when I realized I had found a feather just like that one on my bed the other day and from earlier today where another one woke me up.

Fang remained quiet, either because he was afraid to speak or he was waiting for me to say something about them or him. But right now I was at a loss of words.

When what felt like ages later Fang finally looked at me directly, I couldn't handle the silence any longer so I broke it and awkwardly mustered a,

"I don't know what to tell you."

He nodded and looked away from me again. "Look Max, I'm not going to lie to you." He paused. "I didn't want you to find out about the wings anytime soon. Not because I wanted to hide them from you but because I know I'm a freak and I didn't want you to point it out. But you not saying anything is kind-a worse."He gave me a grim smile and went back to being quiet, but I could still sense his wariness from the way his knuckles were paler than his fingers.

"How did they happen?" I asked him, referring to his wings, glad to hear my voice was back.

"I was born in a place where scientist experiment on children. Sick, lowlifes who care only for their next pay check and who they'll screw next." He made a sound of disgust and continued. "Unfortunately I was one of those kids and they decided to graft me with Avian DNA .The results were quite remarkable let me tell you." He said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "We got a mutant boy with wings!"

"If growing him wings isn't enough," Fang continued sourly, "Letting him live in a cage for the rest of his fucking life is a better life for him."

His words stirred something inside me. I finally understood why Fang was the way he was now. With all the messed up shit he's been through I didn't blame him for being so misunderstood and quiet. I now knew why he liked being alone, he felt more comfortable on his own because he grew up alone. Just like me.

Squelching my earlier feelings of being mad at him, I moved closer to him and grabbed his hand. He was surprised at this but he relaxed and hesitantly lowered his head. Gauging my reaction, he placed it on my shoulder, giving me a clear view of his back and his now exposed wings.

I was so close to them I could reach out and touch them. I knew he could fold them nicely and I wouldn't have a chance to see them, but he chose not to and I knew it was to see how I'd react to them. Fang turned his head and looked at me, his soulful eyes making something inside me ache.

I took and deep breath and extended my hand, reaching for his delicate looking feathers. Fang tensed as I began stroking the upper feathers of his wings and feeling down all the way to his mid-back. I caressed his stunning plumes and marveled at the softness of each one of them. They were so warm and inviting, I wanted to bury my face in them forever.

Fang shivered at my soothing touch and pulled me closer to him, allowing me more access to his dark wings. I ran my hand down the tips of his side feathers and teasingly pulled on them lightly. It was weird yet natural for me to do so, like stroking a big bird or rubbing a pigeon. I scratched his top feathers and he extended his wing a bit, giving me more room to explore.

How could he even hide these wings? I asked myself distractedly.

I placed my hands on either side of his neck and willed him to look at me. Even though I had my doubts on my level of sanity about my level of sanity, I still thought of Fang as my only friend and I wasn't going to screw it because he had wings.

"I don't care if you have wings, you are not a freak."

I stared deep into his obsidian, captivating eyes and tried to get him to understand that I wasn't repulsed by him or whatever it was he was thinking. He didn't say anything but he lowered his head and rested his forehead against mine, a small smile grazing his lips.

We stayed like that for a while. Gradually I felt the hairs of the back of my neck rise and I noticed Fang's body stiffen lightly. Before I could ask him what was wrong, out of the corner of my eyes I noticed silhouettes lurking the shadows. Oh no not this again!

Out of the dark Ari and his pack emerged, as menacing and dangerous as the first time I'd seen him. He had that same dark aura that gave you the chills and they were all half-naked, just like last time. All of them were as visibly beautiful, bare-chested and strong.

Nothing about them had changed; the coldness of their gazes was still there, as the way their faces were grazed by mean looking snarls. My main focus of attention was Ari though; he stood in front of the others looking superior and bitter.

He stepped closer to us and his face twisted into an ugly looking sneer, reminding me of how dangerous they really were.

"Max, Fang, what an incredible surprise!" He exclaimed, "I thought the day wouldn't come were we could all meet together."

Fang was tense beside me and he made a low sound in the back of his throat that resembled a growl. His jaw stiffened visibly and something about the way he stared at me out of the corner of his eyes made me anxious.

"Didn't I tell you to stay away?" Fang's voice was quiet but deadly, his glare could make anyone cringe. Then Ari uttered the words that made us both freeze.

"Time's up Fang! It's time we take matters into our _own _hand_s._"

**Cliffy right? hehehe Review plz!School is over! yeah! So that means I have more time to update, isn't that great! anyway REVIEW! plz don't give up on my story! R&R {I'll update if you review *wink*}**


	13. Captured

**Hey all you loyal readers and reviewers! Thank you for your patience AND your reviews! I took long in updating because this was a very long chapter and it was very important to the story so I didn't want to mess it up! In other news..I graduated yeah! okai so back to the story..there's lots of Sam here 'cause I thought he should be bad and menacing too :DD I really liked this chapter and I hope you do too (: Don't give up on the story please! Lots of Love and Patience...xoxo angie **

"_Time's up Fang! It is time we take matters into our own hands."_

I looked around to meet every pair of eyes that emerged from inside the bushes. I tried to catch Fang's eye and my gut churned when I noticed his usually controlled expression was now anxious and grim. Ari removed himself from the rest of them and made a motion with his hands that immediately had the others circle us. Each of them moving, following his command and closing in on us from all sides.

From here I could see Sam hovering close to me. He didn't look any different than last time, but his features were harder and edging on abnormal, which was freaky. He felt my gaze on him because he turned his head and gave me a twisted smile. I glared at him in return and he paused, cocked his head to the side and edged closer to me.

I warned him with my eyes to stay away and balled my hands into fists once he totally ignored my warning and came closer anyway. Looking amused, he kneeled in front of me and harshly cupped my chin in his big, rough hand. I tried not to cringe when I felt his long nails press against my cheek and his cold stare rake over my features.

I considered my options quickly; we were outnumbered by these strong, mean-looking men who were now surrounding every possible escape we had. If I fought dear Sam here, Fang and I were screwed. If I didn't fight him he would feel free to toss me around like a bitch, which was so not happening. So instead of fighting him I did something very childish, but still effective. I aimed and spit up at him, getting him directly in the face.

He let out an infuriated cry and let go of me, angrily wiping his face with his hands. Eyes flashing, he bared his teeth and barreled toward me, lifting his hand to slap me. I knew we'd be dead if I fought him so I closed my eyes and prepared myself to take the hit.

It never came.

I opened my eyes to see Sam being thrown to the hard ground by a furious looking Fang. He was standing up, his eyes darker than usual, with a fury I had never seen before, his black wings making him look like the angel of death, dark and mysterious. His composed façade was long gone and instead it was replaced by a look meant to kill.

Sam snarled menacingly at Fang and sprang up, lunging at Fang. Even though Sam was quick, Fang was quicker. He met Sam mid-way and grabbed his neck, tackling him and effectively throwing him to the hard ground, making Sam's breath leave in a _whoosh_.

"Leave Max out of this!" Fang told him, arms around his neck.

Growls resonated from several heads, each one of them very animalistic and really bloodcurdling. Some of them deeper than the others but all of them throaty and menacingly low. I could sense their eagerness and their want to step into the fight, which was very wrong and disturbing, but they were obviously waiting for Ari's signal to step in.

An annoying, bitter laugh echoed throughout the cliff, making our heads turn.

Ari had been watching the whole scene, amusement coloring his face. He motioned for Sam to stand up and with a snarl he rose. Moving to stand beside Ari, he looked at Fang with pure hatred and when he met my gaze, his hands trembled and a shudder dispersed throughout his entire body.

Ari shook his head from side to side and let out another annoying laugh, one that I recognized as his frustrating, signature laugh. He edged around Sam and moved closer to Fang, beginning to pace and creating semicircles around him.

"I'm surprised to hear you say that Fang." Ari said, faking surprise. "After all, _you_ were the one who brought her into this."

"Shut up!" Fang yelled at him, hands clenched by his sides.

"No Fangy let me finish. Don't tell me you've decided to elude your mission? You didn't expect it to get so hard, did you?" Ari's mocking voice resonated in the otherwise quiet night and all the other men laughed cynically at Fang.

Ari's face sobered and he raised his hand, immediately silencing all the scornful laughs. He cracked his knuckles and stopped pacing. Getting all in Fang's face, he dropped his voice, to a steady, dead whisper.

"Let's get _on _with it already, bird boy? I'm tired of being _patient._"

His eyes raked over me, staring at me like I was some stray dog, his gaze set and determined. I was about to give him a piece of my mind but the other guys stepped behind him defensively, impatient and eager, making me reconsider. I took half steps back and Fang moved in front of me, protectively, possessively, ready to snap anyone who got in his way. He looked pointedly at Ari and spoke loud enough for all of them to hear.

"I don't give a damn about Jeb's orders. _Nobody _tells me what to do." Fang's face was set and determined. His voice iced filled but quiet, deadly quiet.

I had been wondering what Fang's mission possibly was. I'd been thinking about Jeb's orders ever since the other night but I'd just cast the thought aside and gave it no mind. My initial reaction had been to ignore the matter and focus on the actual happenings, dealing with the consequences later, but now Jeb's mission was apparently the big shit and it irked me, not knowing what was happening.

"What the hell is this mission everyone's talking about?"I finally asked impatiently, without thinking about it.

For a minute there was absolute silence, no one said anything. Ari looked expectantly at Fang, raising an eyebrow in a quiet challenge. Fang's face turned toward mine and his eyes were apologetic and chagrined. His hands unclenched and his hollow gaze met mine.

He kept silent and I searched his face for answers I knew weren't really there, but since I'm no bimbo I understood. He'd been telling me all along but I'd been too blinded to even notice it.

Ari wanted me, for a reason beyond my knowledge. I already knew that. What shocked me was how it wasn't Ari's doing all along. Fang was the one who was supposed to turn me in all along. I would've denied it thoroughly if it wasn't for the fact he was looking at me so repentantly, so ruefully. The guy I thought I could trust completely was quietly telling me I was his mission all along.

It all clicked together like a missing piece to a puzzle. All the things I'd been too dumb to notice, all the signs and all the little details. Fang's mysterious arrival, the growls, being followed, how he appeared to like me from the start, how he seemed to care for me all the time; images of Fang played in my head like flashbacks. All I could think about was Fang, Fang, Fang…

It all sounded so wrong and twisted and so right it made me sick. Everything clicked so nicely, I had to force myself to breathe. I didn't know why these creatures wanted me, I just knew they did. I didn't care why they did and I wouldn't hang here 'till I figured it out.

I took half steps back, and met Fang's empty gaze with my hurt one before glaring at all of them. It was wrong of me to think I could figure out this people, they were all involved with each other, as much as Fang had denied it. I didn't know in what I believed anymore. I didn't know how, I just knew that if I didn't get away from all of them, I'd be toast.

I took quick steps back but during my epiphany I'd forgot about our current situation and ran smack into a strong, very bare chested dude. Looking up I saw a hard face staring at me and felt two arms yank me roughly and turn me around, holding me rooted to the spot.

Smart Max; place yourself in your enemy's hands!

Grimly, I focused on Ari. He was looking at me, his triumphant face making him look very handsome but very cold. I snarled at him and the arms around me tightened, warning, restraining, restricting. Out of the corner of my eyes Fang was visibly angry that this dude had me but his face had lost his anxiousness and now remained impassive.

"Just let her go!" Fang turned to Ari, getting all in his face. "Screw the mission!"

"Tsk. Tsk. No can do, Fang-o you know how much Jeb wants her. Imagine what will happen if he doesn't get what he wants."Ari said faking regret, his face wistful and longing as if he was excited at the prospect of Jeb coming.

Fang gritted his teeth visibly at Ari's words and his eyes looked troubled. He looked frantically at me, and shook his head briefly, unreceptively. With that simple gesture I understood that time really was out, and that I really had no clue of what I could do to get out the situation.

Ari watched our exchange amusedly; he lifted his hand and caressed Fang's hair, as if Fang was a little boy in need of consolation. Then he looked at both of us and said:

"Let's get this over with! I'm tired of waiting!"

Before anyone could react, before I even understood what was happening, Ari had lunged himself at me, lifting me off the ground and over his back in a matter of seconds. He was really tall and very strong, all muscle and shoulder. I knew he could snap me in half any minute, but that didn't stop me from fighting him.

I screamed and started punching his back, trashing in his arms. Kicking everywhere I could reach and cursing him and everything I could think of. His long nails dug into my skin, and it made me fight harder, pulling and yanking harshly at his hair. His surprisingly looking smooth skin was actually really callus and hard, which made me think I wasn't hurting him at all.

When I was little I used to beat up kids all the time in school. Anyone who ever got in my way knew I was no little sissy. I used to fight for myself and I'd defend myself, but those kids I'd fought with were nothing compared to Ari. Still I wouldn't make it any easier for him.

Ari ran with me on his backside toward the edge of the cliff and like only some psycho would, he leaped off it, jumping through the sky with a force no man would have mustered and for like the second time today I screamed, preparing myself to spiral toward my death. At that moment I forgot all about my hatred toward Ari, I hung on to him for dear life, hoping I'd be able to kick his ass later.

Preparing himself to land on the other side of a cliff I hadn't seen before, he kept his hold on me and extended his legs in front of us, like he was getting ready to jump on a trampoline. I thought our landing was going to be bone shattering, and we'd end up like human jell-o but I only heard a _thump_ when Ari's feet touched the ground.

"Let me go already!" I was starting to hyperventilate, who survives a jump like that and lives to tell the tale?

Ari didn't say anything and kept running. Before he could jump from this cliff too, something hard collapsed against us; making him loose his solid hold on me and making me fly and crash into some firm, solid rocks.

I looked up and ignoring the pain, hunkered down behind them. The moon shone, illuminating the scene clearly. Fang had tackled Ari and they were both rolling around in the ground. If you'd look at it, you'd think they were little siblings playing together, like they usually did in mud puddles. But with Ari's hands on Fang's neck you'd think otherwise.

Fang spun and Ari lost his hold on him, giving Fang a chance to knee him in the gut. Then Fang jumped and hovered in the air, having the advantage of his powerful wings. Then the most bizarre, nerve wrecking thing I'd ever witnessed happened. I knew Ari was never an ordinary guy but I'd never seen something like this in my life. One minute I was seeing a murderous looking Ari charging Fang and the next he wasn't Ari anymore.

Ari's features transformed completely. His body was trembling and shuddering so hard you'd think he was having an attack or something. In a process that looked almost painful, his arms and legs grew harrier and coat of fur took their place. His already long looking nails grew and his hands and feet changing into big, meaty paws. His face lost its handsomeness and his perfect white teeth, transformed into canines, flashing and deadly.

The Ari wolf growled ferociously and jumped in the air meeting Fang, where both of them fought, semi airborne due to Ari's lack of wings. I blinked twice trying to get my eyes to believe what I was seeing. I'd questioned my sanity once I saw Fang's wings but I knew for sure I'd lost it now that I saw Ari transforming right before my eyes.

Ari leaped once again and bit Fang, his canines ripping his pants and leaving parallel cuts in his thighs. Fang grimaced slightly but he flew higher and then he swooped down, with incredible speed, feet in front and crashed against Ari, hurtling all his weight at him. And then both of them were tumbling, fighting, punching. Canines against fists and paws against feet.

It would have been a great show, if it weren't for the fact it was Fang fighting something straight out of hell. I was so concentrated on their fight I didn't once give a thought to the other wolf guys, so it was right when I was deciding whether to intervene in their fight or not that I felt a hand on my mouth and I realized too late the hairs on the back of my neck were rising.

I screamed but it was muffled by the hand and when I felt hands lift me, just like Ari had done I bit the guy's hand and grabbed a hold of his long hair and pulled so hard I thought I'd rip half his head. The guy cried out and dropped me. I scrambled up but another dude caught hold of me, this time lifting me up by the legs, like I was a captured pig or turkey.

Being upside down had its advantages though, I punched him hard, where the sun don't shine and he screamed and threw me against the rocks behind us. I gasped when I hit their jagged, sharp surface and I knew I had a bunch of scratches and bruises from them. I tried to crawl to my feet but once I did I had to suck in a breath. And then I winced, even breathing hurt.

Someone grabbed my feet and threw me down to the hard ground. I bit my lip to keep myself from screaming in agony, when the cold my back made contact with the floor. Then I was being kicked, dragged and pushed by all of them. Someone grabbed me by the arms and hauled me up, like a little doll and turned me to look at him.

Sam's teeth flashed in the night, exposing a pair of semi- developed canines, his nails pressing against my skin made me realize he was in the verge of changing. His enraged expression confirmed it. He let go of one of my arms and he lifted his hand and slapped me, raking his nails across my cheek and leaving it stinging.

"Enough! Try to escape now!" Sam spat, hands trembling.

Something hit my head hard and the last thing I remember was Sam's cold smile before everything blacked out.

**QUESTION: Do you want the flock to appear in this story or just Max and Fang? 'cause in the next chapter we'll see THE SCHOOL *dum dum dum* hahaha okay so REVIEW! and tell me 'cause I'll update the faster you review! AGAIN: Review =P**


	14. Meet Iggy

**Hey Guys! I'm sorry about my lack of updating this story. The internet never really works, right now I'm at my friend's and she lend me her laptop so again I apologize. Thank you wonderful reviewers out there, you are amazing people and I appreciate your suggestions (: We get to meet Iggy in this chapter so that's a plus to all you Iggy fans..keep reviewing and don't stop reading!**

I woke up on a dark room feeling groggy and vaguely disoriented. My whole body was sore and my neck was stiff from sleeping in an awkward position. Ignoring my massive headache, I propped myself on my elbows and looked around, taking in my surroundings.

I was in a pale, whitish room made up of solid concrete, no windows and no furniture. Just a plain, simple, wide, gloomy room.

_Where the heck was I? _

That was the question of the day. I didn't matter how I got here, I had to figure out where the hell I was, find myself a window, break through it and run as fast as I could without getting lost.

Ignoring the pain, I stood up and felt blindly around the room for a door, or any type of escape. There was no lighting whatsoever here, so it was kind of hard to do anything. The room probably belonged in an asylum, all white and bare with absolutely nothing to do except maybe sleep.

It was like my own torture, I wasn't used to white, bland rooms and nothing to keep yourself from going mad. I was used to action, something always happening, not the other way around.

This room was so plain…so simple…so different…so _Fang._

The thought was so unexpected that my chest tightened and my mouth went dry.

I never realized how used to him I'd become. His quietness, his serene composure, how everything felt right when he was with me. I never really noticed how tied to him I'd gotten until now and even though he was a complete jerk, the way he made me feel wouldn't change.

Sigh…I sound like a school girl!

I stood up and began pacing the room. This was the plan, I had to find a way to get out of this room, go unnoticed by whatever was out there, figure out where I was and leave unseen by anyone or anything. If anything went wrong, I was toast.

Searching the walls, I finally found what could only be described as a door knob. It was rusty and old but still, it was my only way out.

I took the rusty knob in my hand and gave it a push. Nothing.

I gave it a harder shove and still…nothing.

It wouldn't budge. I turned the knob one last time and used my whole body against the door, pushing and shoving. I threw myself against the door once, twice and suddenly the door gave a small groan and flew open, sending me flying outside.

The first thing to hit me was the smell. A certain smell covered the place, like rubber or plastic, something chemical, like medicine or alcohol. I didn't know why the smell was very familiar. But it was one I recognized from somewhere.

And suddenly I knew.

When I was little mom took me to her job. I remembered that from the instant I walked in I hated the place. I couldn't remember why I hated it, but I did. The smell reminded me of a hospital or a lab, enough to make me beg her to take me back home.

But I wasn't exactly sure if this was the place I'd been before.

Before me a long hallway extended from here to forever. The hallway was covered in doors, different type of doors, which were labeled with numbers. Each door had little windows where you could see from the outside. It wasn't the dark atmosphere my room provided; the hall was filled with light, very hospital-y, just like mom's work place had been.

People with white, doctor suits walked in every direction, never noticing me standing there, gaping at the place like an idiot. I walked solely and purposely, trying to be blasé and pretend I knew where I was going, which as you know, was not the case.

I walked by the first door, room 305. Inside lay a small metallic table, with a light lamp on top of it and some kind of stand with needles, reminding me of the dentist's office.

On closer inspection I noticed someone strapped to it, arms and legs tied to the table with the bright light shining directly on his face. I could see the kid was breathing noticeably hard and his hands were shaking badly.

My first instinct was to barge in and free the poor kid, but past him I noticed he wasn't alone. One of the white doctors carried a tray full of syringes. He took a small needle and when he got closer to the boy, he injected it directly into the kid's forehead.

The poor guy trembled slightly and a shudder ran throughout his body. My hand went to my mouth and my body froze when I saw the guy start convulsing and violent shudders rake all over his frame. White foam oozed out of his mouth and his legs twitched awkwardly after several minutes.

Then it all stopped and the boy didn't move again. His body stopped convulsing and his chest stopped rising and falling. He laid there, eyes staring at the ceiling unmoving, unseeing. The white doctor scribbled something on his board and left, exited the room uncaring, untouched, as if seeing a little kid die wasn't something out of the ordinary.

The horror was too much. Silent tears ran down my face as I continued moving toward the next door, trying to find a window, to escape my awaiting doom. Feeling suddenly ten years older, I looked inside the next room, hoping, praying that this was all a big nightmare.

It wasn't much different than the last room, there was a table in the middle of the room and someone strapped to it, an older boy. He had strawberry blond hair and fair, pale skin. He was closer to the door than the last kid had been, so I could see him pretty well.

From here he looked about my age or so. His features fit him well, not as handsome as Fang but still fairly cute. His strong muscles bulged from the effort to untie himself, and his hands were balled into fists, struggling, fighting.

His hair fell in front of his face, but I could clearly see the grim expression written on his face, awaiting whatever sick, cruel thing was about to happen to him. The boy turned and spotted me on the door, watching him, tears of dread falling slightly from my eyes. His eyes connected with mine and a sudden warmth filled his, making his sullen expression turn hopeful.

'Help' he mouthed and his eyes pleading with mine. His eyes told a million stories, all full of sadness and helplessness, but his imploring eyes never once left mine.

Before I could do anything, a white coat walked in and took out a weird tool out, pointing it directly to the guys face. The boy looked my way once and his pleading eyes turned sorrowful, he looked at me and then turned to face the white coat, face set and expressionless.

I was petrified to the spot, unable to do anything but watch this sick man point that thing to the guy's eyes. The device flashed a dazzling light and the next thing I heard was the boy's screams echoing throughout the hall.

An earsplitting scream was all it took for me to move. I kicked the door open and shoved the device out of the doctor's hand. Tackling the white coat, I punched him squarely in the nose, satisfied once I heard it _crack_. I took the tray full of syringes and used it to knock him unconscious.

Once I saw the white coat slump, I moved to the boy's side and untied him rapidly.

The guy looked at me and none of us said anything, he stared at me but something was off, he wasn't focusing on me like before, like the look he'd given me before, he stared at me unseeing, unfocusedly. He held his hands up and rubbed his eyes again and again, his face becoming more and more preoccupied.

"I…I…can't see!" The guy told me, frustration coloring his voice. My throat closed and I blinked once, trying to keep the tears at bay.

"I'm really sorry." I managed awkwardly, but sincerely. I couldn't imagine what it was like one day waking up and not being able to see, it was the worst thing possible.

The guy didn't take it too well either. He stood up and when he did, I was amazed to see than he was really tall, a good 5 inches taller than me. He leaned against the wall and punched it repeatedly, hitting it once, twice a third time.

He raised his hands and rubbed his head, knuckles bruised. He turned away from me and stared unseeingly at the wall, not saying anything.

"Hey, look I know it sucks, but right now we can both get out of here, maybe we can help each other, I'm guessing you may know the way around here and we-" He cut me off.

"Don't you understand? What part of 'I can't see' didn't you get? I'm blind, sightless! I have my eyes open but I can't see a damn thing! And you're asking _me_ to show youthe way." The boy said, bitterness and resentment coloring his words.

Then he took the metallic table and hurled it against the wall, where it resonated with a loud _bang_. None of us said anything for a few seconds, but after a while the guy's face crumpled and he turned to face me, hands shaking.

"What did I ever do to deserve this? What? What? Tell me. I grew up here, in this damned school, got treated like a rat and got experimented on, I never once got to be a normal kid and now all I really had, and I got it taken away." He said, unshed tears glistening in his eyes.

"I'm sorry. It must be awful; I can't imagine what it's like." And I meant it.

I walked up to this bitter, beautiful boy and took his hand in mine, warm and strong. He surprised me by squeezing it hard, as if needing reassurance that I was here for him, needing the comfort as much as I needed it.

"We need to get out of here but I can't do it alone." I told him.

The guy looked in the general direction of our joined hands and then nodded.

"I'm Iggy."

**Sorry about the SHORTNESS but I thought ending it with Iggy was good, cause I've never really read a fanfiction where they described Iggy loosing his eyesight and Max seeing it. Sorry if this chapter wasn't what you expected but I promise it will get better! Fang will be lacking in the next chapter or so, so I apologize in advance but it is necessary... but this story is strictly FAX so no worries no MIGGY (:  
**

**Q. DO YOU WANT MAX TO HAVE WINGS?**

**Very important question..let me know! I still hhaven't made up my mind sooo let me know in your review! ONE MORE THING: REVIEWWWW! REVIEWWW! And I'll update Friday , but only if I get ebough reviews!**


	15. Never Fail Me

**Im baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack ! After like a year ! okay so don't bite my head off. Fist I'd like to thank all those patient people who like my story. I really didn't want to continue with it but you guys made me keep going. Sooo this story is back on track. Let me know what you think, I know this chapter doesn't have fang but don't worry he's coming ;) **

We were currently in a supply closet. Iggy told me the whole place was under surveillance in those cases where the experiments tried to escape, so it was pretty impossible to get out of the school unnoticed. I banged my head against the wall, like in those cheesy movies where people get random ideas that saves their day by doing this; but in my case it was obviously not working. _Sigh._

Iggy grew up here in The School, just like Fang. As a little boy the scientist performed all type of experiments on him and doing so, he acquired Avian DNA, earning himself wings. Apparently being one of the few successful experiments, Iggy had been confined all his life, away from other experiments in case of contamination or infections that could ruin Iggy's wings.

"I don't know how long it will be before anyone notices we're gone Iggs, so we have to do something and fast." I told him.

Iggy looked at my general direction sadly. "Max I think they already know you're gone; nobody escapes from …The Creator." At that word Iggy seemed to shudder and clench his hands, obviously fighting back memories.

I put my hand on his comfortingly, trying to soothe him. "I know Iggy, I bet that's what they tell you and it's exactly why I don't believe them. They tell you all this things to scare you, so you don't try to get away and hell we _are_going to get away."

I wasn't going to leave him in this forsaken place. He already lost his sight, next thing you know they might take his life as well. If Fang was terrified of this place then it had to be horrible, the worst place on earth and I had already seen enough!

"I don't care if these people own the damn place, I am not sitting around here waiting for them to turn me into a turtle or something stupid like that!" I grabbed Iggy's shoulder and shook him hard. "Do you want to be turned into a turtle Iggy?"

"Being a bird's enough." he said grimly, shocked that I wasn't kidding when I said I was busting out.

"Good." I smiled smugly now that I'd convinced him. I mentally patted myself in the back now that Iggy was in on everything. Maybe just maybe everything would work out great. _Yeah, and pigs fly!_

"So what's the plan?" Iggy said, raising his eyebrow, questioning me.

_And there goes my mental state of happiness._

"So umm, err I was just planning on finding a window, breaking through it and going home?" I made it sound like a question. _Not good Max, worst plan ever! _But I really had nothing so anything was better than telling him I couldn't come up with anything.

In times like this I missed Fang, where his silent presence was enough to make me believe everything was alright. Now I had no Fang, no plan and on top of that Iggy was looking at me as if I'd grown two heads.

"That is your plan! That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard! Are you planning on magically stumbling into an unsecured window? " Iggy was pretty much loosing it with me right now. He looked like he didn't know whether to laugh at this situation or cry. I tend to make people react that way.

"Well what do you suggest we do then smart ass?" I glared at him, even though he couldn't see it. He didn't have to make me feel stupid, my plan was better than anything he had ever come up with.

Iggy sighed and grabbed my hand. I didn't know how to react to that so I just ignored it and looked at him, my face a total question mark. He didn't speak and looked in the general direction of our entwined hands.

"Look Max this is hard for me to say but, they brought you here for something and they won't stop following you until they get what they want. It won't be easy and you'll probably get hurt trying to get away but I'm willing to save you." He smiled slightly a tiny tear escaping his eyes.

Oh God! I sucked at emotional things and this was too emotional for me right now. I've never dealt with anyone who cried and worse I'd never had to 'console' someone. I was totally a loss for words, especially when he said he was willing to save me. No one has ever cared about me so much before.

I squeezed his hand and got closer to him, wiping away his tear. My hand came up and brushed his strawberry blonde hair out of his unseeing eyes. He sighed and grabbed my waist, pulling me into his arms in a warm embrace. I kissed his cheek and rubbed soothing circles on his back.

It felt right and wrong at the same time. I didn't think Fang would like this very much but right now I felt Iggy needed me, a real friend for the first time. And I needed him, I wanted to get out of here and with him I had an advantage.

As I stroked his back, I briefly wondered how his wings looked, how they felt and suddenly I wanted to know. So I pulled back slightly and quietly asked, "Can I look at you wings?"

Iggy seemed surprised and then wary. I guess with people always experimenting on him and always looking at his wings like he was a freak made him distrustful of people who wanted to look at them. I squeezed his hand reassuringly.

He sighed and shook his head, sadness crossing his beautiful face. He pulled back and took off his shirt exposing his back and slowly extended his folded wings. While Fang's wings were as dark as the night, Iggy's were a bone-ish white. Beautiful, soft looking white feathers emerged from his back, like those from doves.

I caressed the top of his wing and slowly stroked and pulled my way down the bottom of it, gauging his reaction to my touch. He sighed and shivered, getting closer to me, looking at the floor with a slight frown. It was like a puppy needing his mom, he needed someone, he had never been close to anyone and it made me sad for him.

"They are beautiful." I said smiling sadly.

"I hate them." Iggy said quietly. "They make me a freak, Max."

I sighed and touched his upper feathers, making him shiver. I remember Fang having the same thought and something inside me ached, making me mad. Scientist ruined these boys' chances of having a regular life, with regular people and I hated them for making them miserable.

"I swear I'm getting us out and when I do, you will not feel like a freak. I promise." And I meant every single word I said.

* * *

Hours later I finally came up with something, given the awesome fact that Iggy had wings made us have a good advantage. I didn't know who this creator person was but hell was I going to make her look bad when I escaped this hell hole.

"Okay Iggy I will go first and then when I find the building plans we will come and head out, If I don't come back in 4 hours…" and then I was silent, I didn't want to think of what could happen if I didn't make it back.

Iggy stood up and hugged me, a tight, reassuring hug that made my eyes water for the first time in a long time. Ever since Fang showed up, my life got all emotional and crappy.

_Here we go Max!_

I grabbed a white coat from the supply closet, some gloves and those unattractive looking goggles, so I could camouflage and the hidden cameras wouldn't recognize me. I looked every other ugly looking scientist walking around here, so I pretty much blend in.

Here and there I saw horrible experiments gone wrong and 'doctors' performing deadly looking operations in different rooms. Every step I took made me dread this place more and more. I didn't think such cruel, vile people existed until today.

I was walking around with no clue to where to look, when I heard something that made me stop.

"What do you mean she _Escaped_?" An angry voice boomed, echoing in the hallways making white coats run and scramble like scared chicken.

I kept walking silently until I could hear the voices clearer. There was a room with a big window which could be seen from the outside but not from the inside, pretty convenient for someone like me to spy. A man in his thirties was shouting to someone who I couldn't distinguish but recognize from somewhere.

"I'm …I'm sorry Jeb, she wasn't there when I went." The voice said, trembling and breaking in between syllables.

So this was the Jeb that everybody was scared of and who wanted me, for some unknown reason which I preferred not knowing.

Jeb walked slowly pacing around the guy who looked totally frighten, from here I couldn't see the guy but Jeb's furious looking face was pretty clear. He stopped and grabbed the guy from the neck, a vein in his neck jumping.

"The creator is _not _going to be happy and you know what happens when the creator is not happy!" Jeb spat at the guy who was swallowing and gulping audible.

"No…No… I… I don't t" The poor guy stumbled and faltered around his words, his hands gripping Jeb's hands were around his neck.

Suddenly Jeb smiled a weird crazy smiled and squeezed the guy's throat. Audible chokes and gulps where heard from the guy and he started gripping and pulling Jeb's hands to no avail. Suddenly with a violent choke he went limp in Jeb's arms.

_What kind of people where this? Oh boy, oh boy I was gonna hyperventilate. Breath Max, Breath!_

Jeb let go of the corpse he was holding and went around it, as if not had happened and he'd just killed a bug or something. There was someone I hadn't noticed in the far back of the wall, someone who made the hairs of my neck prickle and my skin crawl.

"Ari, you will _not_fail me this time!"Jeb ordered, his voice impassive and controlled, with a commanding note to it.

Ari's booming throaty laugh echoed the halls, sending shivers down my back. His beautiful body was twisted into a half form of between wolf and men. His handsome face contorted into an unnatural wicked smile.

"When have I ever failed you, master?" Ari said, as he emerged and sniffed the air. "Ah, she is near."  
He said smiling maliciously, and suddenly looked in my direction.

**No Miggy, Max is just being sweet to him :D *dum**dum* review ! review! And tell me if you have suggestions and/or ideas . Love you guys .. angie xoxox**


	16. Join Us

**Hey** **Guys**, h**ere is the update I promised! ****I'm so happy** **I got over ****these chapters, the weren't so fun to write as the others. Anyway sorry no Fang in this one either. But there is Ari and Max sooo I still had fun writing it. I already have this story planned out so I think it will have like 20 or 21 chapters it all depends but yeah it's already half finished. Anyway TELL ME WHAT YOU think about this story so far and don't forget to review. :)**

Oh Shit!

I started, mentally cussing in every language I could. I had a really really really bad feeling that with Ari here in the school I would accomplish nothing. He would follow my scent just like some dog and would eventually find me. _I was screwed!_

As Ari walked and sniffed like an idiot, I ducked down and walked, more like ran down the hall way. As I made my way I bumped and hit several scientists. Some even tried to yell at me, prodding my patience, but I ignored them and turned left, right, left, making zigzags. If Ari followed he'd have hell of a hard time finding me.

I really didn't know where I was going until a room's door caught my attention. To my left I noticed a door that said "The Creator" in big bold letters. I was so curious as to what was behind it that me being well me, decided to sneak in and take a peek.

I can tell you, it wasn't what I expected. It was just a regular office, like the ones every other doctor had. Some junk on the desk, papers everywhere and a small computer. There was no one in sight and I quickly walked in and shut the door, hurrying before whoever the creator was came in.

_Plans, plans, building plans! Damn I can't find anything! _I searched through all the crap to see if I could find some building plans but there weren't any in all of these papers. I needed those plans to find the best escape route, locate the exits and not wander around like I was currently doing.

Frustrated, I threw a bunch of papers to the floor and started kicking them like an angry little kid who didn't get a toy he wanted. I was angry that I was stuck in this damn school. Angry that time was running out and angry that I didn't know if I was ever going to see a way out of here.

I heard some footsteps and the doorknob turn. Cursing silently, I ducked and hid under the desk like I'd seen people do in movies millions of times, praying that whoever it was didn't see me.

Two people were whispering and then a female voice screamed: "What do you mean Max escaped?"

I knew that voice too well.

It was the same voice who had taken care of me, had watched over me, sang me to sleep and the same voice that had left me all alone through all this years.

_What the hell was my mom doing here?  
_  
"Dr. Martinez you know she is a little hard to handle." The other voice, I recognized as Jeb said, his tone strained and tight.

From here I could see my mom's displeasure in the anxious way she flipped her brown hair and how she tapped her foot impatiently. Jeb's lips shook slightly; though his expression was controlled, he was obviously uncomfortable in mom's presence.

Mom was wearing those scientist lab coats and some white gloves, making my stomach sink as I realized she was one of those vile people who experimented on innocent children.

It didn't surprise me as much as it should have, she never really loved me. But it still hurt how she had been part of my kidnapping, although I didn't understand why after all this years now she wanted me.

"The boy failed me Jeb; you assured me he wasn't going to fail me!" My mom's angry voice echoed through the hall.

Jeb swallowed and slowly walked over to my mom. He grabbed my mom's waist and ran his hands through her hips and around her back grabbing her ass, making a small gasping sound escape from her lips. His right hand came up and went through the front of her shirt. I heard her moan slightly as he continued to grope her.

_Ewww talk about disturbing, I never wanted to see that!_

"We will find her. The boy was just confused of his mission but we made him understand. He will find her and he will turn her in, after all he is my son." Jeb told my mom, grinning suddenly.

"Make sure, because if Fang fails this time, he won't be useful anymore and if he is not useful…" she paused and smiled ruefully, "it was a pity."

Mom's fake sad face made me want to shoot her. "I would have turned her in myself but I needed to make sure she was with us, not against us. This is why I wanted Fang. Poor Maxy all alone and just waiting for a guy to come, she is just like every other girl out there…Kind of disappoints me." _  
_  
My mom laughed a mocking laugh that made me clench hands. I wanted to throw myself at her and punch her until she couldn't laugh anymore. How dare she threaten Fang, I didn't give a fuck of who she was or if she owned the damn place, I was going to kill her!

"Fang won't fail." Jeb said sure of himself. He kissed my mom forcefully on the lips before pulling away and leaving, giving orders to someone I couldn't see.

Fang was close, my heart skipped as if it had a mind of his own. I still didn't like how I felt about him but that didn't stop my heart from racing or my pulse to quicken when I thought of him being so close by. I just had to figure out where he was.

* * *

When they left I opened some records and went through files, some horrible things were recorded but most of the things were just scientific theories and crap like that. When I finished every single file and was about to just give up with everything, a large paper hanging by the wall caught my attention.

_Score One for Max! _

I started happy dancing and reached for the map, grabbing it and studying it. Now all I had to do was grab Iggy, find Fang and blow this joint.

I was so caught up in my moment I didn't notice someone enter the room, my skin was all prickly and the hair in the back of my neck raised.

"Going Somewhere?" Ari asked, his breath warm when he blew in my face.

"No, no where in particular." I answered coolly, straitening my back and giving him a half glare. He smiled and started walking towards me, cutting the space between us.

"Max, you have so much _potential._" He paused and looked down at me, his face lost all traces hands lost of wolf and he slowly brought his hand up and caressed my cheek with his hard. My mind did double take and my breathing sped up. What was happening?

"You should join us Max, we want you because you could be the leader of our new and improved generation. We would be invincible, do anything we want and no one would have the power to control us. Max, this is why we do experiments we want a perfect generation; no mistakes. You could be beside Fang, with your own wings and could be happy, not alone."

I was a loss of words. Ari looked at me, his hands still caressing my cheeks and his smile as malicious as ever. He took advantage of my lack of words and removed the building plans from my fingers. All I could do was watch him.

He really was beautiful, so beautiful he looked inhuman. And I knew that he could change into the monster he really was in a second, because that's what he truly was…a monster.

"Where is Fang?"

His lips went down and his nose started skimming my neck, I couldn't breathe, couldn't say anything. This felt wrong, so uncomfortable but I needed to know where Fang was. So I bit my tongue and stayed still.

Ari's lip's stopped and kissed my collarbone, trailing his kissed right back up and suddenly stopping at my ear.

"He is waiting for you to join him, Max."

I didn't know what to think my head was swimming and this all sounded like bullshit to me. I didn't want to any part of this. I wanted to go home, and forget I ever met Ari. Forget I ever saw the school and go back to my everyday normal life. But I knew that it wasn't happening.

So I did what I had to do.

Ari extended his hand a silent question his eyes penetrating, looking at mine. I took his hand and his smile was so malevolent, so wicked I had to fight the shudders that ran through me.

I'd find Fang soon and I would get out of here.

**Sorry about the shortness but I had to leave it there, but next chapter I'll make it longer promise ;) REVIEWWWWW I'll update when I get to 200 reviews :) We can do it ! Love you guys ... angie :D**


	17. The Perfect Human

**So Hey Guys! First of all I'm going to tell you that I had given up on this story. It's been like 3 years since I've updated. Personally, I had lost interest in Maximum Ride…sadly. But when I read James Patterson's last MR book, I decided to finish this story. :) I will end this story in like 2 or 3 more chapters, so keep reading and expect the grand finale! **

One of Ari's men brought a struggling Iggy into the room. It was no surprise that they had found him so quickly; after all no one really escaped the school unnoticed…I didn't know what I had been thinking, risking Iggy's life in vain.

Iggy's face was full of anger; he was obviously frustrated that he couldn't really see where he was. I closed my eyes and wished that for a minute Iggy could read my mind, so that he knew I had a plan and that I wouldn't stop until I saved both of us.

Ari still had my hand in his; he had made me sit in his lap and was waiting for his whole pack to arrive. I wanted to ask him where Fang was, or when would I see him but I knew that Ari wouldn't share the information he had with me.

"Ah, yes… the pack is here Max." Ari's face was dark, his eyes flashing. "Today is the beginning of a new generation; with Max as our leader we will be invincible!"

The pack howled; half men - half wolf, excited expressions taking over each of their faces, except Iggy who threw accusing looks in my general direction. I gulped.

Was it me or had they multiplied? Last time I'd seen them they were like 10, now there were like 30 men more or less, all of them looking at Ari, their leader and me, who he had claimed to be leader also. My throat ran dry.

"Why do you want me to be the leader, why do you want me?" I heard myself say, all of the men turning from Ari to look at me.

Ari laughed a deep sort of growling laugh that made all of his men follow him. He smiled a malicious, evil smile that made my hairs stand up and caused my body to shudder.

"Max, you will be given everything these scientists have been successful with. Wings, speed, heighten senses; you are going to be the perfect human, the beginning of a perfect generation. You have so much potential, your character, independence…the creator saw to all that."

He had stood up now, eyes full of excitement and eagerness; he looked at me, expecting to see my eyes reflect his eagerness. I couldn't process any of it, it all sounded so terrible, all the experiments the scientist had done to find the 'perfect' human being, all of the people who died and suffered because of this horrible, sick invention of the 'perfect' generation.

And then I wanted to throw up, my stomach churned and my throat tightened. All the men were waiting, looking at me, their faces expectant. Before I could say or do anything I heard a very recognizable voice that made my blood freeze.

"Max you are making the right choice."  
My mom was standing in the door of the wide room, Jeb standing beside her. She looked pleased with what she saw, her smile the same as when she always saw me. She walked over to me and held my chin in her hands.

"As my daughter, I've always wanted the best for you and _this_is the best." She caressed my cheek, a mocking gesture of how she always did when I was little and I thought she was the best mom in the world.

"_I am not your daughter._" I spat, my face full of anger and swatted her hands away from my face. After everything she had done, she was nothing to me.

My mom's eyes flashed but then she went back to her flat expression. "Perhaps, one day you will understand everything. But right now, just know that you are either with us or in our way. And Ari will kill everything in our way." She said, emotionless and cold.

I was about to throw myself at her, when Ari forcefully grabbed my arms back and flashed his long canines at me, stopping whatever I was about to do. I snarled and glared at both of them, showing my dislike for both of them.

"She will come through after we are done with her." My mom continued, as if nothing was wrong. "Or her precious Fang will suffer the consequences."

Everyone laughed a sickening mocking laugh that made me sick to my stomach and my knees weak. My anger rose and I looked at her with all the hate I could muster. "_Where is Fang? What did you do to him_!?" I screamed, trying to break free of Ari's restraint.

"Nothing…yet." She smiled at the last word. "Take them to the cages, maybe then she'll learn to be grateful." This was the last thing she said before walking off with Jeb, leaving me with Ari and his vicious pack of men.

All of the men laughed once again, howling and growling to the creator's orders and then I felt an explosion of pain in my head and everything went black.

I woke up with a colossal headache, my head filled with excruciating pain. I was in a dark room full of cages; across from me Iggy was lying inside one, still asleep. I looked around at all the cages and got angry at how they treated these kids like animals. I couldn't imagine what kind of childhood they'd had here, where everything was dark.

Hours passed, minutes, days. I didn't even know how long it had been since I'd been here but I was thinking I was going to go crazy if I didn't get out of here. Across from me Iggy was calm, his expression sad and his face had lost all hope. He didn't believe me every time I told him that we would get out of here, not anymore and frankly I was starting to lose hope myself.

Every now and then a scientist would come and take a child, and the kid wouldn't return in a long time or just wouldn't return at all. I was growing anxious and I didn't know how long they'd make me be here.

I didn't realize I'd fallen asleep when I heard the door open and footsteps echoing in the room. A scientist came and stood right in front of me, opening the cage and taking me out. He grabbed me forcefully and shoved me forward.

"Try something and I will shock you with this taser." The man said, holding a taser gun to my back.

I walked slowly, not wanting to think of what they'd do to me, dreading the hours to come and thinking of all the things I'd seen them do to the children.

We entered a room, like every other room I've seen since I've been here. There was the metallic table, the tray full of syringes and the light coming from the lamp. The scientist strapped my arms and legs to the table and I grew sick with the smell of alcohol and disinfectant.

"You don't know the privilege you've been given in being the first perfect mutant." The doctor said, giving me a crazy, wild look. "This will hurt, a lot but I promise it will all be worth it." The man smiled pitilessly and proceeded to grab a fairly large needle from the tray.

_Be strong Max, Be strong._

I felt my eyes start to water and I closed my eyes to keep the tears from falling. I was going to be an experiment. I looked up and wished I could somehow wake up and this would all be a horrible dream.

"What I'll first inject is Avian DNA, you will be half bird- half human, how marvelous is that?! You will fly!" The white coat smiled, like he really thought she was giving me a free ticket to Disney.

He took my arm and applied some alcohol with a pad and started pressing the needle into my skin. The liquid burned and I couldn't hold back a scream. I bit into my lip, drawing blood, struggling and trashing against the strains.

Three things happened at once.

I felt the needle disappear, a choked scream and then silence.

I couldn't breathe and my arm felt on fire. I was panting; my forehead sweating and I couldn't understand what had happened. The needle was gone, and someone was ripping the straps that held me off.

I opened my eyes swiftly and before I could scream or fight, my breath froze and my throat went dry.

I was looking into those familiar beautiful dark obsidian eyes that I had missed so much.

Fang was tearing my straps off; a dark, weary look crossed his features. Not at all how I imagined our reunion. I was stunned; I couldn't believe he was here, saving me. I wanted to hug him, ask him where he had been, explain everything that had happened but nothing came out.

He seemed to be wary, rushed and his movements were fast. He threw the dead white coat in a supply closet inside the room; he picked up the needles and arranged them so it looked like nothing had happened. And while he did all this I just sat there, not saying a word, shocked he was here, alive.

He turned slowly to me, and inspected me with his eyes, revealing nothing. He kept his distance, and I didn't know how I felt about that, or what had changed but I wanted to do nothing more than to run to him.

"Max, are you alright?" he asked me, his voice so familiar and so beautiful, my heart melted.

"You're here." Was all I said, my eyes raking all over his frame. He had dark clothes like usual, but they were torn in different places and from the way he moved I noticed he looked really tired.

Before I could say anything else, he closed the space between us and kissed me fiercely.

_Oh,_ _Dear God_, I kissed him back, with everything I had.

I poured every emotion into the kiss how much I missed him, how much I needed him. My mouth opened to his and his tongue snaked into my mouth, making me gasp a little. I moved my head at a different angle and this time Fang opened his mouth, and let me slip my tongue inside it. We kissed a little deeper, tongues stroking over each other, lips pressing tightly together.

He got closer to me wrapping his hands around me, and pulling my body against his. As Fang's hands slipped away from my face, I snaked one of mine around the back of his neck, drawing his lips a little closer.

Then all too soon Fang started to pull away, ending our breathtaking kiss all too quickly.

When he smiled, I felt my breath leave and time freeze. "I missed you, Max" he whispered softly, making my heart stop.

I didn't care if I used to not feel anything for anybody, Fang changed me and I was still independent Max but this boy made me feel safe, at home and for the first time ever, not alone.

Fang seemed to have remembered where we were and his eyes looked panicked. I've never seen him so agitated before, which scared me a little.

"We have to go, Max, they're coming."

**Don't forget to review and tell me honestly if you want me to continue this story or not. And if you want give me some ideas you want to see incorporated in these last chapters! So Reviewwwwwwwwwwww! Lots of love…angie xoxo**


	18. Confessions

**Hey Guys! Special thanks to the people who reviewed, especially you soccerplayer8 who reviewed almost every chapter! Yes, this is the chapter we've all been waiting for… Fang's confessions to his mission and his dark mysterious life! So remember reviewwwwww! :D**

We were sneaking silently through the halls of the school trying to draw as little attention as possible hoping we wouldn't blow our cover. Fang was cautious, knowing his way around and hiding us from all the hidden cameras that he knew were there. He was ushering me forward and urging me to stay quiet all the while, crossing rooms and hiding from the white coats. Suddenly, my eyes fell on a door that read _Storage Room _and me being well, me had the sudden urge to go in.

Fang saw my expression and gave me a warning glance, which meant to stay where I was and to not do anything stupid. He clearly did not know I did not take orders from anyone, so you may guess what happened next.

I sauntered as quietly as possible down the hall and over to the storage room, striding and keeping an eye on my surroundings. I heard a sudden cuss word behind me and an angry looking Fang followed me into the supply closet. Once we were inside Fang lost his temper.

"What part of stay quiet and follow me did you not understand?!" He half whispered, half yelled and his eyes flashed, furious.

I ignored his fuming expression and looked around the room. It was large, filled with boxes and junk piled to the top. There were scientist's old uniforms, old files and a lot of dust. Even though the room was full and crowded one of the top boxes caught my eyes, _Perfect Experiment_. These were clearly forgotten boxes but why was _that _one stored in here?

"Fang, help me up." I looked at him, my face set.

He was still mad I could tell but he knew better than to try to stop me once I'd set my mind into doing something. Thinking about Fang made the million questions I had in my mind about where he had been, why was he so beaten up and what took him so long, flood my mind but I shook them off and refocused on the task at hand.

Fang came over and I felt his strong arms as they took hold of my waist and pushed me up, which gave him a clear view of my butt. I blushed and he smirked, making me want to instantly kick him straight in the face. I took a deep breath, ignored him once again and grabbed the heavy box.

"Okay, put me down now." I told him and he gently laid me down. He came next to me, his eyes reassuring, and all anger forgotten. I opened the box and a bunch of papers, forgotten files and scientific books came into view.

I grabbed some and studied them. It was mostly scientific entries; the children's reaction to different types of mixed chemicals, the results of some experiments that turned out ugly, formulas to better the last experiment. It wasn't that what caught my eye though, what caught my attention was a file in the bottom right corner, _Avian DNA, Experimentation Results._

Beside me Fang stiffened. He grabbed the file with steady hands and opened it. A bunch of papers with pictures of nasty results, failed attempts and different formulas of Avian – Human DNA combinations sprung out. I stared at all of it, growing sick with every passing paper.

Page by page Fang looked at every kid who had once been scientists' experiments; I was repulsed by everything they'd done to find the 'perfect' formula, I wanted to kill all of those murderers who didn't think a child's life was valuable. All of the kid's profiles and information had one thing in common…_Deceased _written in red at the bottom of the page.

All but one.

Fang's face showed up on the last page of the file, in the bottom of the page written in red was the word _successful._ Fang stood there quiet, holding the paper with more force than was needed. I kneeled and studied the rest of the contents inside the box. There were journal entries of Fang's life, daily pictures of the transformation, recorded observations of his state, how his wings grew out of his back and how his body acquired the ability to fly on its own. Pages and papers of him were all here, thrown away in this forgotten storage room.

Fang's hands shook, his face was a mask but there was an underlying anger in his expression that made me understand how he felt. He furiously threw the file he was holding inside the box, grabbed the whole thing and hurled it against a wall, making it crash in a loud _bang._

He clenched and unclenched his hands several times to calm himself down and then looked at me, his expression hard.

"I can't imagine what you went through," I broke the silence as gently and comforting as I could. I sucked at trying to make people feel better and he knew that so he just nodded and stared at the box which was now lying on the floor, its contents spilled out.

"Ari and my _mom,_" I chocked on the word _mom,_ "Were talking about turning me into the 'perfect' human being, with heightened senses, speed and the ability to fly… did you know anything about this?" I asked him silently, not wanting to make it harder than it already was.

Fang watched my face carefully, scrutinizing my expressions. Even though his eyes didn't betray anything, his fingers twitched and he balled his hands into fists involuntarily. I waited.

He looked directly into my eyes and for the very first time he opened up to me.

"Ever since I was a boy, I've heard my supposed _father _talk about the perfect experiment_._" his voice was acid, and he said the word _father_ as if it was venom in his mouth. "I told you that I grew up in this horrible place but that isn't the hardest part. What really hurts the most is knowing that it was my own father who gave me up to the school, who had made me suffer years of experimentation to find the 'cure' to imperfect humanity and who was willing to let his own son die for it." Bitterness edged his voice, his face full of resentment.

"After many failed attempts, they managed to combine human and bird DNA, like you saw in the files. Many of the experiments ended up dead or not completing the transformation, they all convulsed and died, they grew sick and died and some were killed from the painful transformation."

Fang shuddered a little; his eyes were lost in thought, remembering. His face was paler than usual and I got closer to him and unclenched his hands, giving him an understanding look.

"What do you mean by transformation?" I asked in a whisper, rubbing his hands, trying to ease him a bit.

"Max…" he stopped, measuring his words. "They don't want you because you're pretty, they want you because you were raised to be this perfect human, but not anyone can be the perfect human, they have to endure it. They planned this way before you were born; they made you tough, independent. All the while they were shaping your personality, everything. They need you to be tough because a human's body isn't made for flying. Your body will have to _change_ and undergo this painful transformation. Your bones get lighter one by one and your wings grow slowly and _painfully _out of your back. It takes weeks, months to complete the transformation and the worst part is you feel every inch of it."

I've never seen Fang so pale. He was visibly sweating, remembering weeks of excruciating pain. His hands were permanently balled into fists, his lips dry. What he said scared me, but this side of him, his tortured expression scared me the most.

"I've never been out of the school before, but when I grew wings Jeb took me outside and taught me how to fly, saying that someday I'd be the one to teach the perfect child, when the time was right. Every day he kept saying how I was born for this, to fulfill this mission."

At this he smiled, a small bitter smile. "Life has a way of fucking me up. Out of all the people in the world Max, all this time _you_ were my mission, the reason I was made half human – half bird, I'm supposed to teach you how to fly, to help you through your transformation, to help you endure all the pain and I…can't do it! Ever since that day on the cliff Max, I knew I'd do anything to save you. I fell for you and Max...I love you."

_He… loved… me?_

All the things he had said were making my head reel but I never in a million years did I imagine him saying he loved me! Was I capable of loving someone back? Did I love him? I was utterly shocked; my mind had lost all ability to think properly. This was so un- Fang it left me dumbfounded.

Fang was looking into my eyes, gauging my reaction. He must have seen something reassuring in them because in an instant, he had taken me in his arms and had kissed me, hard and fast. His lips brushing against mine and all too fast he pulled away.

"I will never hurt you or watch as someone else does." He said, determined, his voice unwavering.

This conversation had really taken a turn; my head was spinning, trying to process everything.

This boy who had been the reason I'd changed so much this past months was willing to save _me_, Max. In all my life I never thought anyone was capable of loving me and here Fang was, hugging me to him, reassuring me. I didn't deserve any of this.

"They will not stop until they have perfected the anecdote to heighten human senses and inhuman speed. We have to burn this whole place up and kill everyone in it." He stared at me, making sure I understood what he was saying.

Him saying he wanted to burn this place up was like music to my ears, I was ready. But there was one more thing I wanted to ask him though…

"Now that you are _sharing _things with me, what the hell happened to you?!" I signaled his torn attire and his worn out state.

He smiled slightly. "This," he signaled his clothing "Was Ari's doing… a whole pack against one isn't really a win situation. Oh and Jeb called, really pissed off, he told me I had one last opportunity to … what was it he said? Oh yes, _redeem_ myself". He laughed at this. "He told me I had to convince you to be the leader of a 'new and improved' generation.

We were both in the floor now, sitting down. This was probably the most I've heard Fang speak in like ever, for the first time sharing his secrets with me. I didn't know how much time it had really passed, it seemed like hours and Fang knew it but continued anyway.

"I need to buy us time. I need you to pretend you are in the process of the transformation. This will give us time to come up with a plan. Try to act like you're in a lot of pain and your whole body aches all the time. I'll be there, Jeb would want me to. He'll think you are on their side."

Fang was so determined; I really thought this might work. I could only nod. I knew better than to hope but him being so open for the first time made me trust him with all I had.

We were ready and already two steps ahead.

**Sorry for the shortness but I felt it necessary to cut it here. If you were expecting more action, keep reading because you won't be dissapointed. Please understand that this was really important because now we understand why Fang is the way he is. Reviewwww and I'll update sooner! lots of love .**


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